CLS Blog
What’s for Breakfast?
April 9, 2014
Content provided by Grant Engelbart, CLS Portfolio Manager One of the most followed indices in all of finance is the Breakfast Index, created by Hard Assets Investor (HAI). I’m kidding of course, but yes, that is a real index. The breakfast index is an equally-weighted basket of the commodities listed below. Some are actively traded,…
A Quick Analysis on the 20 Hottest ETFs
April 4, 2014
Content provided by Rui Wang, CLS Investment Research Analyst Since the 2009 market recovery, the ETF industry has continued to thrive. I have researched the ETFs that were launched two to three years ago, and summarized the top 20 ETFs with the largest average monthly net cash inflow since inception. As the below chart shows,…
Update on Long Term Return Expectations
April 3, 2014
Content provided by Rusty Vanneman, CLS Chief Investment Officer Having been on the road for most of this past month (hey, it wasn’t all work and no play, I did have an awesome family vacation in there), and in preparation for a lot of travel coming in the next six weeks, I’ve been contemplating what…
Preparing for Higher Interest Rates
March 28, 2014
Content provided by Marc Pfeffer, CLS Senior Portfolio Manager On March 19, Janet Yellen gave her first press conference as head of the Federal Reserve. What ensued was an awkward speech conveying to the markets that short-term interest rates may actually go up sooner than the markets had anticipated. Stating that rates could go up…
Advisor’s Alpha
March 27, 2014
Content provided by Kostya Etus, CLS Investment Research Analyst Vanguard has written a revolutionary whitepaper on quantifying the value of an Advisor on portfolio performance. The original, “Vanguard Advisor’s Alpha” introduced in 2001 (a pivotal time for the industry), had outlined how advisors could add value through relationship-oriented services. One of the value-adds was providing…
Behold the Power of Credit Cards
March 25, 2014
Content provided by Michele Prell, CLS New Business Manager How many of you remember going off to college and receiving your first credit card application in the mail? Opening it, filling it out, and getting that first powerful piece of plastic. It was one of the most liberating feelings, for me at least. That is…
Weather and Markets
March 20, 2014
Content provided by Steve Donahoe, CFA, CLS Senior Portfolio Manager Recently, I spent some time in the San Jose area presenting at a couple client events. In that part of the country, the grass was green and the flowers were blooming, which is a treat for everyone any time, but it is especially enjoyable for…
2014: The Year of the Diversified Portfolio
March 19, 2014
Content provided by Sierra Morris, CLS Junior Investment Research Analyst 2013 was the year of the domestic bull, with all other asset classes falling short and leading investors to wonder why they should bother allocating money to underperforming asset classes such as bonds, international stocks, and emerging markets. While it is true that an entirely…
CLS Morningstar Ranking – Top 4%
March 18, 2014
Content provided by J.J. Schenkelberg, CFA, CLS Senior Portfolio Manager Each quarter Morningstar publishes a report entitled the Morningstar ETF Landscape Report. The report tracks 648 ETF strategies from 153 firms on a regular basis. The CLS Aggressive ETF model ranks in the top 4%1 for its 5-Year performance as of December 31, 2013, with…