Gaining Perspective

Many advisors have yet to take the plunge into ESG Investing. They see the ESG label, and fear client portfolio performance will suffer for the sake of impact. Strip away that label, and advisors immediately see the value of planning for sustainability and avoiding companies exposed to negative events such as fraud, ethics violations and environmental catastrophes.

After the tumult of Q4 2018, investors deserved an easy quarter, and they got it. The Q4 trends of falling rates and rising economic concerns continued. But risk assets, like stocks and non-government fixed income spread products, pulled out of their nose dives with strong performances in Q1 2019. As we look ahead to the remainder of this year, what should bond investors expect?

There are three legs to the retirement problem: determining an appropriate savings and spending plan, having the right amount of insurance, and constructing an appropriate portfolio. Achieving those three goals and smoothing consumption, especially during the critical period just before and after retirement, is a complex and computationally intensive undertaking.

Value investors have fared poorly over the last decade, as traditional value indices have trailed their corresponding growth counterparts. But that doesn’t mean that all value funds have done poorly. Indeed, one notable exception has been the Matthews Asia Value Fund (MAVRX).

With equity valuations at elevated levels, subdued economic growth due to changing demographics and stubbornly low productivity gains, as well as a bleak outlook for fixed income, advisors are challenged to rethink foundational portfolio elements of investor portfolios—which means seeking out strategies that bolster the core going forward.

Nearly two million financial plans were created in the last year using MoneyGuidePro®. The two individuals who are charged with overseeing the success of the acquisition of PIEtech®, the parent company of MoneyGuidePro®, discuss what that means for their clients.

As advisors have expanded their suite of financial planning services and sought new ways to add value to their client relationships, they have also committed to solutions to streamline their investment management. One of those solutions is a model portfolio, which consist of allocations to a group of mutual funds that meet the goals and risk tolerances of their clients.

While there are many ways to gain individual exposure to the value, size, quality, momentum and low volatility factors, multifactor strategies combine exposure to all of them. Choosing the right one for client portfolios is incredibly difficult.

The chief investment strategist at one of the world’s largest asset managers provides insight into the six themes that will drive the global economy and capital market returns.

The traditional role of asset managers has been limited to investment management, which is understandable considering the challenge of consistently delivering superior returns. While many asset managers provide resources and education to advisors, rarely do they make that part of their core mission.