by Carl Resnick | Jul 19, 2017 | UpClose
Exploring rules-based enhancements for improving returns when invested in risk assets. The goal of active investment management is compelling. Capturing more of an asset class’s upside than its downside is an investment recipe for success. In a simple...
by Linda Ferentchak | Jul 12, 2017 | UpClose
While bear markets are inevitable, will their impact be exacerbated by the growth of passive index funds—and the accompanying “madness of crowds”? One of the fun aspects of having children is re-exposure to some great kid-friendly literature. In a...
by Perry Kaufman | Jun 21, 2017 | UpClose
Understanding the tools to better manage portfolio risk throughout different market, volatility, and economic regimes. One major gripe of mine is that some portfolio strategists who consider themselves to be risk managers are effectively just risk...
by Katie Kuehner-Hebert | Jun 14, 2017 | UpClose
Financial advisors can apply the discipline of risk management within active strategies that focus on impact investing. Impact investing, also known as socially responsible investing (SRI) or sustainable investing, and active management can go hand in...
by Greg Gann | Jun 7, 2017 | UpClose
Focusing on risk management and protection against market downturns can result in some market underperformance, especially when the market remains elevated for an unusually long period of time. How do advisors cope with clients who lose confidence in...
by Thomas Krawinkel | May 24, 2017 | UpClose
The problem with using single point values in assessing investment performance. When it comes to assessing investment performance or risk, people like to get information presented in a concise manner. That’s why key figures, metrics, and comparisons to...
by Ed Egilinsky | May 17, 2017 | UpClose
Alternative strategies provide a valuable tool to help investors manage risk in their investment portfolios, but this growing investment category is often misunderstood. The investment category of alternative investments is perhaps one of the most...
by Linda Ferentchak | May 10, 2017 | UpClose
In a business where establishing trust is essential, it’s unwise to take shortcuts when communicating an advisory firm’s services and active approach to investment management. Consistent messaging and frequent points of contact are the keys to a...
by David Wismer | May 3, 2017 | UpClose
Insights on the advancement of active investment management from the 2017 Market Technician Association’s 44th Annual Symposium. I recently had the privilege of attending the Market Technicians Association’s (MTA) 44th Annual Symposium, held in early...
by State Street Global Advisors | Apr 26, 2017 | UpClose
Practical guidance for advisors and their older clients and their families on the issue of dealing with cognitive decline and its impact on investment planning and decision-making. Editor’s note: We are pleased to present part II of an abbreviated...
by State Street Global Advisors | Apr 12, 2017 | UpClose
Each situation will be unique, but the goal is universal: empowering advisors, clients, and family members to minimize the financial risks related to cognitive decline by planning ahead. We can’t predict, but we can better prepare. Editor’s...
by Linda Ferentchak | Apr 5, 2017 | UpClose
Does fractal mathematics offer a better way to understand market risk? The traditional test of understanding how something works is to take it apart and then rebuild it. If the clock still keeps time afterward, there is a good likelihood that the...
by Jerry Wagner | Mar 22, 2017 | UpClose
Like a heavyweight title fight, investment plans have a beginning, a middle, and an end. Do your clients’ plans have the dynamic risk-managed strategies and true diversification needed to take the financial punch that markets will inevitably deliver?...
by Eric Sajdak | Mar 15, 2017 | UpClose
Employing “true” diversification and a dynamic, actively managed portfolio approach may help advisors and their clients successfully navigate a lower-return market environment. As investors, many of us have traditionally been taught that bonds and other...
by Greg Gann | Mar 8, 2017 | UpClose
Why the role of financial risk management may become even more critical as divorced couples face emotional, lifestyle, and financial stress and change. In both life and investing, it is common to believe that existing or recent facts will continue...
by Linda Ferentchak | Mar 1, 2017 | UpClose
Supplementing asset-class diversification with strategy diversification increases the potential for portfolio risk management and can improve risk-adjusted returns. Using asset diversification as a tool to reduce portfolio risk—while maintaining its...
by Perry Kaufman | Feb 15, 2017 | UpClose
What offers a better opportunity for investment returns: low-volatility or high-volatility markets? It doesn’t seem possible that low-volatility markets might deliver better returns than the converse of more alpha being delivered in volatile markets. It...
by Dave Walton | Feb 8, 2017 | UpClose
What does it take to “beat the market”? Is it more important to deliver value to clients in terms of risk-adjusted returns? Proponents of active management have been somewhat on the defensive over the past several years. With relatively strong stock...
by Greg Gann | Feb 1, 2017 | UpClose
Risk management remains paramount in 2017, with markets likely responding unpredictably to the policies emanating from a new administration. Active strategies can help mitigate risk and volatility for client portfolios facing the “Trump card.” When...
by David Wismer | Jan 25, 2017 | UpClose
Several studies assess advisor attitudes around portfolio management and risk mitigation for clients—showing a continued preference for actively managed strategies. Editor’s note: This article first published in our magazine in October 2015, but...
by Linda Ferentchak | Jan 11, 2017 | UpClose
With investment returns continuing to face challenges in the foreseeable future, strategies that manage risk and minimize drawdowns play an important role in client portfolios. As 2016 moved into its final months, prominent strategists were forecasting...
