CLS Blog
Why the Destination is Highly Dependent on the Journey
June 13, 2018
“Life is a school of probability.” — Walter Bagehot Content Provided by Joe Smith, CFA – Senior Market Strategist What will the markets return in the next 12 months? Should investors expect 20% gains per year in the future? Will the markets correct by more than 10% in the next six months? We frequently encounter…
Reason #29 Not to Use Stock-to-Bond Ratios to Manage Risk
June 11, 2018
Content Provided by Case Eichenberger, CIMA, Client Portfolio Manager Income-Based Portfolios Which portfolio would you expect to be riskier? A or B? Or, put another way, which portfolio would you expect to be more volatile? Tough call, isn’t it? They both look very similar in terms of stock-to-bond ratios. Let’s call it a wash…
Return Drivers of Commodities
June 7, 2018
Content Provided by Jackson Lee, CFA, Quantitative Investment Research Analyst “Be Creative” is a new CLS Investment Theme that was introduced the beginning of this quarter. To recap its introduction, “Be Creative” means CLS will add more exposures to asset classes such as alternative and real assets. The benefits of investing in these segments rather…
Perfect Fit
June 6, 2018
Content provided by Robyn Murray, Freelance Writer When Michael Hadden first interviewed at CLS Investments, there were no positions open for him — but he got a call back anyway. At a company that prides itself on a family-first culture and a passion for investing and helping others, Hadden was too perfect a fit to…
Demystifying Liquid Alternatives
May 17, 2018
Content provided by Grant Engelbart, CFA, CAIA, Portfolio Manager One of our latest investment themes, Be Creative, emphasizes the use of alternative assets in portfolios. Alternatives is a broad and often confusing category of investments that encompasses unique assets, such as commodities, and alternative strategies, often called liquid alternatives, packaged in a systematic way. Some…
Time to Be Active
May 16, 2018
Content provided by Michael Hadden, Junior Research Analyst Now that summer is around the corner, I assume it’s safe to say most New Year’s resolutions have fallen to the wayside. For many, myself included, that resolution involved getting to the gym and being more active. And while I haven’t been great at making it to…
Reason to Invest Internationally #18: Wider Opportunity Set
May 3, 2018
Content Provided by Kostya Etus, CFA, Portfolio Manager As you may know, we have written a great whitepaper named “Why International: The Case for International Investing,” which highlights 17 reasons why investing internationally is ‘always’ a good idea, not just now when relative valuations are so attractive. Although 17 seems like a lot, I am…
10 Years Later: Lessons Learned from the Global Financial Crisis
April 20, 2018
Content provided by Rusty Vanneman, CFA, CMT, Chief Investment Officer Question: Ten years have passed since the onset of the financial crisis. What about the past decade has changed your thinking about the economy, financial markets, or investing? While I honestly think most of my investment philosophy and approach remains essentially the same, there are degrees of emphasis that have…
Market-ology: Filling out Brackets and Navigating Financial Markets
March 29, 2018
Content provided by Mark Matthews, Investment Research Analyst “Your biggest opponent isn’t the other guy. It’s human nature.” — Bobby Knight, retired basketball coach. For basketball fans around the country, St. Patrick’s Day marked the start of March Madness — and it has certainly been a wild one. A 16-seed beat a 1-seed for the…
DOL Rule: UPDATE
March 21, 2018
Content provided by Mike Forker, Chief Compliance Officer Late last week, the DOL fiduciary rule was addressed by the courts. Here are the main takeaways you need to know. On Thursday, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a decision that vacated the Department of Labor’s (DOL) fiduciary rule. The ultimate fate of the rule…