UBS investment strategist Michael Crook has helped fashion a quasi-endowment approach for UBS clients that aims to help them achieve their goals without markets getting the better of them. In this podcast interview (25:20), he explains how UBS’s “3L” strategy – liquidity, longevity, legacy – offers a reality-based methodology for coping with market challenges on the path toward a secure retirement.
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I recently went shopping for an investment I thought could hold up during a bear market. This podcast (8:47) describes my adventures looking at ETFs and individual stocks, particularly my unexpected fascination with the Invesco DWA Consumer Staples Momentum ETF (PSL), but my ultimate choice of Molson Coors Brewing Company (TAP).
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Ever wonder why financial literacy programs fall flat, when the content is so basic? What’s missing is not the intellect needed to understand debt management. This podcast (5:51) suggests that something more basic is at play. Young people need to know that they matter; that their actions, even if very small, are consequential. If they’ve gotten that one down, then they can handle retirement investing. Financial advisors are uniquely positioned to demonstrate this point.
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Ray Dalio argues that the market experiences paradigm shifts that roughly conform to each new decade and whose typical dominant characteristic tends to be opposite of the decade preceding it. This podcast (7:12) outlines Dalio’s arguments, and adds my own, particularly in support of gold, in anticipation of inflation and in identifying a corner of the stock market that may offer greater stability in what could be a challenging decade for equities.
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Fortune dubs Schwab’s new advisory offering, consisting of robo-allocation and unlimited access to a CFP, as a Netflix-style subscription model. It’s low-priced and attracting assets, but is it the right approach? This podcast (5:27) suggests that what is primarily at issue in the choice between a low-cost subscription service and higher-cost, more customized advice is a consumer choice between convenience and commitment.
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Mexico appears third from last in Seeking Alpha’s list of country ETFs over the past year, above Nigeria and Pakistan, and may be ripe for an upward rotation. Mexico appears to working with the U.S. more effectively than other countries today, and while not cheap on a valuation basis, it is at about half the level of U.S. stocks. This podcast (6:39) argues that it’s fair to expect a volatile series of dips in Mexican stocks over the next year, amidst U.S. elections. A post-election reassertion of U.S.-Mexican commercial ties could make those dips buying opportunities.
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In her podcast and Forbes column, Teresa Ghilarducci discusses what she calls “retirement shame,” the blame people cast upon themselves for failing to have saved enough for retirement, offering two vivid real-life examples. This podcast (5:06) suggests that contemporary society, specifically its urbanized and materialistic setting, makes it harder to prosper economically. Clarity on this issue can help advisors re-instill the value of saving.
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The pleasure of making money is really a byproduct of seeking and achieving an investor’s portfolio objectives, but be warned: the pleasure-seekers are also the pain-fleers. This podcast (4:59) contrasts three types of investors – “growth-oriented investors,” “stagnators” and “losers.”
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UBS’s new “Bear Market Damage Index” puts hard numbers onto a very real problem — sequence of returns in retirement. UBS postulated a bear market that took 74 months to return to its former high. This podcast (5:45) reports UBS’s calculation that a liquidity strategy keyed to this worst of worst case scenarios did far better than a 100% equity strategy. These numbers should be of interest to anyone who thinks the next bear market might be a big one, and may also suggest a longer liquidity window than most advisors budget for.
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The quest for income is becoming as salient a concern as it was during the financial crisis of a decade ago. This podcast (5:43) looks at the example of highly sophisticated income-dependent investors – insurance companies – and finds no magical solutions to the quest for yield. We lay out approaches on two sides of the risk spectrum, and find that you must risk something to obtain a yield. There are, however, two other solutions that are sure to boost yield, if the client is willing to do the heavy lifting.
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