The Long View

Our guest on the podcast this week is Rupal Bhansali, Ariel's chief investment officer of international and global equities. She manages Ariel International and Ariel Global and also oversees Ariel's global-equity research team. Bhansali has nearly three decades' worth of experience. Prior to joining Ariel, she managed international-equity portfolios and served in leadership positions at MacKay Shields and Oppenheimer Capital. She also has experience in the hedge fund world, including a stint at Soros Fund Management.

Background Information

Other Topics Referenced in This Episode

About the Hosts: Christine Benz and Jeff Ptak have been analysts and commentators on investments and the investment industry for many years. Christine is Morningstar's director of personal finance and senior columnist for Morningstar.com. Jeff is head of global manager research for Morningstar Research Services, overseeing Morningstar's team of 120 manager research analysts in the U.S. and overseas.

To Share Feedback or a Guest Idea: Write us at [email protected]

(Disclaimer: This recording is for informational purposes only and should not be considered investment advice. Opinions expressed are as of the date of recording. Such opinions are subject to change. The views and opinions of guests on this program are not necessarily those of Morningstar, Inc. and its affiliates. Morningstar and its affiliates are not affiliated with this guest or his or her business affiliates unless otherwise stated. Morningstar does not guarantee the accuracy, or the completeness of the data presented herein. Jeff Ptak is an employee of Morningstar Research Services LLC. Morningstar Research Services is a subsidiary of Morningstar, Inc. and is registered with and governed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Morningstar Research Services shall not be responsible for any trading decisions, damages or other losses resulting from or related to the information, data analysis or opinions or their use. Past performance is not a guarantee of future results. All investments are subject to investment risk, including possible loss of principal. Individuals should seriously consider if an investment is suitable for them by referencing their own financial position, investment objectives and risk profile before making any investment decisions.)

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Our guest on the podcast today is Rob Arnott. Arnott is partner and chairman of the board of Research Affiliates, a firm he established in 2002, following stints at First Quadrant and Salomon Brothers. He also runs several prominent mutual funds, including PIMCO All Asset. In addition to these duties, Arnott is an accomplished thought leader, having published more than 100 articles in professional journals. Among other plaudits for his work, he has received seven Graham and Dodd Scrolls, awarded by the CFA Institute to the top financial analyst journal articles of the year. An innovator, Arnott popularized the concept of fundamental indexation, which some refer to as smart beta. 

Background Information

Related Links

Research Affiliates Forecasts

Research Affiliates Research

Other Research Referenced

About the Podcast: The Long View is a podcast from Morningstar. Each week, hosts Christine Benz and Jeff Ptak conduct an in-depth discussion with a thought leader from the world of investing or personal finance. The podcast is produced by George Castady and Scott Halver.

About the Hosts: Christine Benz and Jeff Ptak have been analysts and commentators on investments and the investment industry for many years. Christine is Morningstar's director of personal finance and senior columnist for Morningstar.com. Jeff is head of global manager research for Morningstar Research Services, overseeing Morningstar's team of 120 manager research analysts in the U.S. and overseas.

To Share Feedback or a Guest Idea: Write us at [email protected]

(Disclaimer: This recording is for informational purposes only and should not be considered investment advice. Opinions expressed are as of the date of recording. Such opinions are subject to change. The views and opinions of guests on this program are not necessarily those of Morningstar, Inc. and its affiliates. Morningstar and its affiliates are not affiliated with this guest or his or her business affiliates unless otherwise stated. Morningstar does not guarantee the accuracy, or the completeness of the data presented herein. Jeff Ptak is an employee of Morningstar Research Services LLC. Morningstar Research Services is a subsidiary of Morningstar, Inc. and is registered with and governed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Morningstar Research Services shall not be responsible for any trading decisions, damages or other losses resulting from or related to the information, data analysis or opinions or their use. Past performance is not a guarantee of future results. All investments are subject to investment risk, including possible loss of principal. Individuals should seriously consider if an investment is suitable for them by referencing their own financial position, investment objectives and risk profile before making any investment decisions.)

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Our guest on the podcast today is Mark Miller, a nationally recognized expert on trends in retirement and aging. Miller's work considers retirement holistically, including healthcare and Medicare, Social Security, retirement investing, midlife careers, and housing. Miller is a regular contributor to Morningstar.com, and he also writes about retirement matters for Reuters, The New York Times, and WealthManagement.com. In addition, Miller has written several books, including The Hard Times Guide to Retirement Security and his most recent book, Jolt: Stories of Trauma and Transformation.

Background Information

Related Links

State of Retirement Preparedness in U.S.

The State of Work for Older Adults

Fixing Retirement at an Individual Level

Social Security

Healthcare for Retirees

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Our guest on this week's installment of The Long View is noted portfolio manager Bill Nygren. Nygren joined Chicago-based Harris Associates as an analyst in 1983 and later served as the firm's director of research. He has managed Oakmark Select OAKLX since 1996 and Oakmark Fund OAKMX since 2000 and has comanaged Oakmark Global Select OAKWX since 2006. In addition to these duties, Nygren serves as Harris' chief investment officer for U.S. equities. For his investing achievements, Morningstar recognized Nygren as its Domestic-Stock Manager of the Year in 2001, and his funds remain highly rated by Morningstar's manager research analysts. A frequent and insightful commentator on investing and markets, Nygren's shareholder letters are a must-read on the Street and beyond. In this far-ranging conversation, he discusses how his team's competitive edge has evolved, how traditional value metrics won't cut it in today's evolving economy, and the lasting lessons of the financial crisis.

Background Information

Related Links

How Stock-Picking Has Changed and What Defines Value

Portfolio/Risk Management

Portfolio and Holdings 

About the Podcast: The Long View is a podcast from Morningstar. Each week, hosts Christine Benz and Jeff Ptak conduct an in-depth discussion with a thought leader from the world of investing or personal finance. The podcast is produced by George Castady and Scott Halver.

About the Hosts: Christine Benz and Jeff Ptak have been analysts and commentators on investments and the investment industry for many years. Christine is Morningstar's director of personal finance and senior columnist for Morningstar.com. Jeff is head of global manager research for Morningstar Research Services, overseeing Morningstar's team of 120 manager research analysts in the U.S. and overseas.

To Share Feedback or a Guest Idea: Write us at [email protected]

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Our guest on today's podcast is Jonathan Clements, the founder and editor of the website HumbleDollar. Clements has been a prolific and influential writer over his several-decade career. Prior to starting HumbleDollar, he was the longtime money and investing columnist for The Wall Street Journal, where he wrote more than 1,000 columns. After he left The Journal, Clements spent six years heading up investor education at Citi Personal Wealth Management. He has also authored seven investment books and a novel, including the Jonathan Clements Money Guide, How to Think about Money, and From Here to Financial Happiness.

Background Information

Related Links

Frugality and Setting Financial Goals

The Role of Advisors in Improving Outcomes

Whether Investors Undermine Their Results With Bad Behavior

Retirement Decumulation

Asset Allocation and Investing

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Our guests for the latest installment of "The Long View," Maria Bruno and Joel Dickson, are both veterans of investment behemoth Vanguard. 

Bruno is the head of U.S. wealth planning research at Vanguard, leading a team responsible for conducting research and analysis on a wide range of retirement, wealth planning, and portfolio construction topics. She also contributes to the oversight of the investment philosophy, methodology, and wealth management strategies supporting Vanguard's advisory products and services. Bruno is a Certified Financial Planner, and she's a fount of wisdom on many subjects, but especially retirement planning. 

Dickson has worn many hats at Vanguard during his long career there. In his current position as Vanguard's global head of advice methodology, he oversees all investment methodology development for Vanguard's advice programs whose end consumers are individual investors. 

The transcript for this podcast can be found here.

Background Information

How Retirement Savers Can Play Catch-Up

"It's such an idiosyncratic or individual sort of consideration from a planning standpoint; there are plenty of people that have little wealth but high income." Whether traditional tax-deferred accounts are automatically better than Roth for people playing catch-up on retirement savings. (2:57-5:53)

"It's a little bit simpler when you're younger and accumulating." How basic savings and investing habits, combined with plan defaults, make the accumulation period much simpler than decumulation. (5:54-8:24)

'Off-Label Uses': Ways Supersavers Can Maximize Their Investments Aftertax

Backdoor Roth IRA: How it works, who should consider, and potential pitfalls to be aware of. (12:56-16:34)

"There's more and more focus on minimizing income taxes during one's life than there is about avoiding estate taxes." Using a 529 as an additional tax-advantaged savings vehicle. (16:35-21:26)

Decumulation

"We're telling people to, on average, oversave and underspend." Balancing longevity, sequence risk with spending and quality of life. (24:27-28:35)

"At the end of the day you still kind of get to the same end result." How bucket portfolios may not look very different from traditionally allocated retirement portfolios. (28:36-31:30)

"Retirees could be overexposed to equity risk." Whether retirees aren't derisking their portfolios. (31:31-32:41)

"The rules of thumb just don't work as well." Why managing taxes during retirement is necessarily an individualized process. (32:42-36:24)

"Here you're actually looking at strategies that could accelerate income taxes." How the post-retirement/pre-RMD years are a prime time to control future tax bills. (36:25-39:41)

Building Portfolios

"Focus on the things that you can control." What to do if investment returns are muted in the future. (44:38-46:23)

ETF Landscape

"98% of the DNA is the same." Whether the benefits of ETFs relative to traditional index funds been overstated. (49:29-51:27)

Vanguard's Personal Advisor Service

About the Podcast: The Long View is a podcast from Morningstar. Each week, hosts Christine Benz and Jeff Ptak conduct an in-depth discussion with a thought leader from the world of investing or personal finance. The podcast is produced by George Castady and Scott Halver.

About the Hosts: Christine Benz and Jeff Ptak have been analysts and commentators on investments and the investment industry for many years. Christine is Morningstar's director of personal finance and senior columnist for Morningstar.com. Jeff is head of global manager research for Morningstar Research Services, overseeing Morningstar's team of 120 manager research analysts in the U.S. and overseas.

To Share Feedback or a Guest Idea: Write us at [email protected]

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Our guest this week on "The Long View" is Sheryl Garrett. Garrett is a legendary figure in financial-planning circles, having pioneered the concept of offering hourly financial-planning guidance. She's founder of the Garrett Planning Network, a national network of hourly, fee-only financial planners that she started in 2000. Garrett has authored, co-authored, or served as technical editor on many books, including Garrett's Guide to Financial Planning, Just Give Me the Answer$, and the Personal Finance Workbook for Dummies. She has worked with the U.S. House Committee on Financial Services regarding predatory lending regulation, financial literacy, and Social Security reform. She has also received numerous awards in the realm of financial planning during her career. Most recently, InvestmentNews named Garrett as its 2019 Icon.

Background Information

Advice Best Practices

"The industry thought I was nuts." Why Garrett opted for an hourly fee-for-advice model. (3:59-7:53)

Advice Models

"I see financial planning as a job and I see ongoing investment advice as a different job." How the advice model--and manner of charging fees--should adapt to clients' evolving needs over time. (14:17-22:30)

Subscription-based vs. hourly advice: What's the better model? (22:31-25:51)

Working With Clients

Temperament matters: What people should look for in a financial planner or advisor. (32:55-43:12)

Planning Business

Commoditization: Given the popularity of planning and advice, could financial planning go the way of the Chartered Financial Analyst designation? (46:07-48:46)

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Our guest on this week's installment of "The Long View" podcast is James Montier. Montier is a member of the asset-allocation team at Grantham, Mayo, Van Otterloo & Co. Before joining GMO in 2009, he was co-head of global strategy at Societe Generale. A prolific and incisive writer, Montier has authored several books, including Behavioural Investing: A Practitioner's Guide to Applying Behavioural Finance; Value Investing: Tools and Techniques for Intelligent Investment; and The Little Book of Behavioral Investing. He's also a regular contributor to GMO's library of white papers and research studies on topics ranging from productivity, strategic asset allocation, contrarianism, and more. In addition to his duties at GMO, Montier is also a visiting fellow at the University of Durham and a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.

Background 

Behavioural Investing: A Practitioner's Guide to Applying Behavioural Finance by James Montier 

Value Investing: Tools and Techniques for Intelligent Investment by James Montier 

The Little Book of Behavioral Investing: How Not to Be Your Own Worst Enemy by James Montier 

GMO's research library  

Montier's articles in GMO's research library 

Montier's Role at GMO

Fostering Debate at GMO

"Investing is one of those fields where there is almost constant evidence that we are all wrong." How to foster humility and a diversity of views. (4:32-7:38)

Debating Jeremy Grantham on mean reversion: Montier gives an example of an issue the team has debated recently--how long it takes for markets to revert to their long-term averages. (7:39-9:36)

Forecasting and Portfolio Construction

Corporate concentration and low interest rates: How GMO is reconsidering these variables and their impact on the asset-class forecasts it makes. (10:10-11:38)

"The Idolatry of Interest Rates, Part II: Financial Heresy and Potential Utility in an ERP Framework" by James Montier and Ben Inker (Aug. 11, 2015)

How GMO incorporates its asset-class forecasts into the multi-asset strategies it manages. (11:39-12:37)

The appeal of a "robust" forecast that's meant to help portfolios withstand various potential outcomes. (12:38-14:15)

"Our portfolios look a little freakish." Montier explains why GMO is U.S.-stock-phobic and, conversely, why the firm is finding value in alternatives. (14:16-18:04)

Career risk: Where individual investors hold an edge over institutions. (18:05-18:55)

Alternatives

Montier presents two examples of alternative strategies that GMO employs--merger arbitrage and put-selling--to own standard risks in different ways. (21:50-25:49) 

"We should size them such that they cannot hurt the overall fund should we get something wrong." How GMO sizes its positions in alternative strategies. (25:50-27:33) 

Alpha, beta, and decay: How GMO assesses an alternative strategy's vulnerability to being arbitraged away. (27:34-29:57)

GMO's Bearish U.S. Equity Forecast

"A behavioral self-defense mechanism." How GMO's approach to forecasting helps to structure its thinking and anchors decision-making. (32:09-34:54)

"It's really valuation where we've been most wrong." Where GMO's U.S. equity forecast erred in recent years. (34:55-36:01)

"We have to wear that. We have to own it." Montier on steps that GMO has taken to introspect on its forecasting error and how that expresses itself in the way it makes decisions and manages money. (36:02-39:45)

Planning Amid a Dearth of Value

"We have always been pretty bad at (forecasting), and it's unlikely we're going to get a lot better." (41:44-44:37)

How should investors and advisors forecast asset-class returns and plan for the future? (44:38-47:25)

Capital Allocation

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Our guest today on The Long View podcast is Rick Ferri. Ferri is an hourly fee-only investment consultant at Ferri Investment Solutions; he's also a CFA charterholder. Prior to starting his new firm in April 2019, he was the founder and head of investing at a $1.5 billion advisory firm that specialized in low-fee asset management using index funds and exchange-traded funds. Prior to that, he worked for a brokerage firm, where he was an early adopter of inexpensive index products for client portfolios. Ferri is a Marine Corps officer and retired fighter pilot.

Introduction and Background

"The conversation about asset allocation comes later, and the conversation about investments comes after that." Ferri discusses how his definition of value-add has changed over the past 10-15 years. (0:55-3:24)

"I've been through the whole gantlet." Transitioning from broker to Registered Investment Advisor. (3:25-5:14)

On clients who have needs that go beyond investment management. (5:15-5:56)

"You get the work done, you pay for the work." Why Ferri's new advisory practice charges clients by the hour, not by their assets under management. (5:57-9:44)

"Advisors talk about how they add value behaviorally; I think a lot of that is created by the advisor and not so much by the client." The role of advisors in managing client behavior. (9:45-11:12)

Asset Allocation

"There are no average investors." How investors of the same age can vary widely in their appetite for equity risk. (11:13-15:03)

"Those are the things that are going to add value to a client's portfolio." Focusing on keeping taxes and investment costs down, not trying to play factors. (15:03-18:21) 

"There seem to be a lot of factor renters, rather than factor owners." Ferri is skeptical that factor investing will outperform in the future. (18:23-20:44)

 "I don't use anything that doesn't have an expected real return." Why Ferri sticks with plain-vanilla asset classes. (20:45-21:56)

How to go about making return assumptions for the major asset classes. (21:57-24:14)

"It depends on how much money the client has." A total bond market index as a one-stop option for fixed-income exposure. (24:15-27:20)

International bonds as a core asset class. (27:21-28:46) 

"I don't think they're pivotal." REITs as a direct allocation.  (28:47-31:45)

Decumulation  

"There seem to be better ways of doing it than the classic way in which we've been taught." On whether the traditional declining equity glide path makes sense. (34:20-39:28)

Indexing and the Legacy of Jack Bogle

"I don't see it as big of a threat as other people do." Should investors be worried about concentration in very few ETFs, and do index funds and ETFs own too much of the market? (42:10-44:07)

"I was having a real moral dilemma." How influential Jack Bogle was in shaping Ferri's career path. (44:08-46:08)

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Our guest on this week's episode of the Long View is none other than Josh Brown, CEO of Ritholtz Wealth Management. Brown's story is unique and inspiring. He began his career as a broker but grew disillusioned with the industry's skewed incentives and practices, eventually pursuing a career as an independent Registered Investment Advisor. Along the way, Brown managed to author an acclaimed book, Backstage Wall Street, and build an enormous following around his blog, "The Reformed Broker," as well as his twitter handle, @reformedbroker. Now he oversees Ritholtz's day-to-day operations in addition to his other duties, which include serving as a regular contributor on CNBC, as a member of fintech firm BrightScope's advisory board, and most recently as a technical advisor on the Showtime hedge fund drama Billions.

Introduction and Background 

Origin Story

The Advice Business

"Brokerages in name only." Why wirehouse clients aren't necessarily being ill-served by the system (7:30-8:09). 

Lending: The key difference between a fee-based account at a Wall Street wirehouse and a fee-based account at a traditional RIA (8:10-10:34).

How to Provide Financial Advice

"It's recreation; it's not a necessity." Helping clients to scratch an itch without putting their financial plans at risk (12:17-14:53).

"Financial planning is the highest calling within our profession." Ensuring clients get past the firm's public persona and truly buy into its plan and approach (14:54-16:46).

An ensemble approach to delivering advice to clients: The anti "eat what you kill." (16:47-18:58).

How to Build an Advice Firm

"If somebody comes to us in a rush, it's probably a bad situation, and we don't want anything to do with it." The advisor recruitment and weeding-out process (20:46-24:23).

Portfolio Construction and Asset Allocation

Tactical asset allocation's role in their process: "We don't believe in investment alpha using tactical." (27:34-29:33) 

"What if you had a tactical model that almost never did anything?" How they built their tactical-asset-allocation overlay to help manage client behavior (29:34-33:13).

"I hope it underperforms, because most of our clients' money is not invested in tactical." (33:14-35:03)

"Every client is different, but their needs are not." Implementing a scalable asset allocation (35:04-37:08).

"You want to be wrong in such a way that it's not going to be catastrophic for the end client." How Ritholtz sets capital-markets expectations (37:09-38:41).

Managing Client Assets

"The longer I'm doing this, the more stuff I want to take out, not add." Brown explains why they err on the side of excluding various types of investments from client portfolios (40:59-42:33).

"Our clients are here because they want us." Brown says fee pressure hasn't been an issue for the firm (42:34-44:22). 

The Future of Advice

How a chocolatier's success reinforced the importance of consistency in client interactions: "Standardize the process, personalize the advice." (46:51-50:25) 

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.