Direct indexing. No longer an exclusive tool of the big-account investor, it’s rapidly working its way down the food chain. Now those with more modest sums to invest are able to employ it, too. But just because you can, does that mean you should? And if you’re an advisor, should you offer it and recommend it to your clients? Our panel covers topics such as the ways that personalization at scale can help advisors grow their business, how direct indexing can help with optimizing after-tax returns, and how advisors can use personalization to help match client ESG preferences with investments, creating stickier relationships along the way.

In this rebroadcast of an episode from 2021, Paul Arnold and Dan Kemp discuss how advisors can better understand why ESG is important to a client—whether it’s the expression of one’s values or something else. We also look at how advisors might think about matching each client with a portfolio that addresses their unique ESG preferences and needs.

“The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear,” author H.P. Lovecraft once wrote. “And the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown.”

Fear of the unknown is no stranger to the investment world these days. We’re living in scary times. And the investors who aren’t feeling jumpy right now tend to fall into one of two categories: those who have a plan—and those who haven’t a clue.

Let's talk about how to manage your fear of the unknown when it comes to inflation and rising rates—and why doing so can help you avoid making the wrong moves at the wrong time.

In this rebroadcast of an episode from 2020, we explore why advisors might change the focus of annual meetings to progress updates with Ryan Murphy, head of decision sciences at Morningstar Investment Management. And Daniel Needham, president, shares his thoughts on how to keep investors focused on the long term.

Short-term worries versus long-term goals—which are guiding your investment decisions? If you’ve done your homework and you’ve given careful consideration to achieving the financial results you want, that question is easier to answer—even if it remains nerve-wracking to stay the course. Here in early 2022, we’re awash in short-term concerns once again. Between inflation, rising interest rates, and more, it’s easy to question the faith you had when the outlook was brighter. So, with that in mind for this episode, we’re focusing on how to keep your worries at bay and your eye on the ball.

"[W]e can’t avoid the reality that we’re experiencing and probably will continue to experience stress, uncertainty, and change. But the question is, how do we cope?" — Sarah Newcomb

Given recent market volatility, we thought it might be helpful to revisit this episode from July 13, 2020, which features two experts on investor behavior and decision-making. Sarah Newcomb, director of behavioral science at Morningstar, Inc., discusses emotions brought on by market loss, talks about how they can affect decisions, and offers some ways to cope. Ryan Murphy, head of decision sciences at Morningstar Investment Management, discusses cognitive biases to watch out for and ways investors can make better decisions.

Rising Interest Rates. New COVID-19 variants. Inflationary pressures. Those and other factors are on the minds of investors as we head into 2022. Will the new year be one of prosperity, or is it time to fortify your defenses? The truth is that it’s nearly impossible to know. And that’s why we at Morningstar follow a mantra of, ”Don’t predict—prepare.” In this episode, we ring in 2022 with our take on how to best prepare for what’s to come, no matter how handy you may or may not be with a crystal ball. In fact, we note that if you address the future properly, you don’t need to play soothsayer at all. It’s not about prognostication. It’s about preparation. And at the end of the hour, we hope you’ll have a clearer idea of how to be better prepared.

Environmental, social, and governance. More commonly called ESG, it used to be seen in many parts of the investment world as a niche specialty that was mostly about virtue—something that was nice to do. But now there’s been no question that it’s something we need to do, particularly coming out of Glasgow’s United Nations Climate Change Conference, known as COP26. Nearly 500 financial-services firms from around the world agreed to align $130 trillion with the goals specified by the Paris Agreement, with the objective of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. In this special short episode, we hear from Global Chief Investment Officer Dan Kemp on the ramifications of COP26 and the outlook for ESG for investment advisors and their clients in the coming year.

Inflation. It's showing up in headlines and in conversations between everyone from political pundits to investment professionals and clients. It’s no different for us here at Morningstar, and most of what we’re hearing boils down to two key questions: what are our views on inflation, moving forward, and what are we doing to prepare for the potential threat of a continuing rise? In this episode, the conversation revolves around what’s driving inflation in the short and long term, ways we can try to protect investors from it, and how our Real Return portfolio series aims to provide returns that beat inflation.

Conviction. The term derives from the Latin verb convincere, which means “to argue.” And that’s the basis for Morningstar Investment Management’s quarterly global convictions: to present an argument that helps an investor achieve their goals. Or perhaps more directly, what are our high-conviction ideas to fuel investor success? We’ll cover a lot of ground in this episode, including recent market performance and trends, what those developments mean in terms of reward versus risk, inflation concerns, economic-recovery, and more.