Category: Investing
390 posts categorized as "Investing"
Three Biases Investors Should Avoid in 2017
January 17, 2017
Content provided by Joe Smith, CFA, CLS Senior Market Strategist 2016 is now in the books with investors clearly doing better than they may have expected at the start of last year. Global markets were up. Value investing is back in vogue again. Economic growth seems to be showing signs of improvement both at home…
Global Debt Levels
January 11, 2017
Content provided by Scott Kubie, CFA, CLS Chief Investment Strategist The recent short-term rally in global stock markets has boosted optimism towards equity investments. While always glad to see our clients benefiting from market increases, CLS portfolio managers continue to keep a vigilant eye on market risk. In addition to our Risk Budgeting Methodology, we…
Why Smart Beta ETFs are Leading the New Investment Revolution
January 5, 2017
Content provided by Joe Smith, CFA, CLS Senior Market Strategist Our industry continues to undergo a deep transformation that is shaking the very foundation of investing. Over the last two decades, indexing has moved from an afterthought for many investors to an increasingly dominant trend that has allowed many to access the global markets at…
President-Elect Trump and the Fate of the DOL Fiduciary Rule
December 16, 2016
Content provided by Mike Forker, CLS Chief Compliance Officer How will the election of Donald Trump as President impact the Department of Labor’s (DOL’s) Fiduciary Rule? The answer is no one knows for certain. While Mr. Trump has not taken a position on the rule, a few members of his transition team have indicated that…
Reducing Volatility in an Uncertain Environment
December 9, 2016
Content provided by Case Eichenberger, CIMA, CLS Client Portfolio Manager As portfolio managers, we are often questioned by clients about expected volatility and how we manage risk. This year is no different. Whether it’s nerves around the outcome of the U.S. presidential election, a perceived global growth slowdown, or dropping oil prices, volatility is all…
Smart Beta: Back to Basics
December 7, 2016
Content provided by Grant Engelbart, CFA, CAIA, CLS Portfolio Manager We are three quarters down in 2016, and we can definitively say that smart beta is here to stay — in CLS portfolios and the industry as a whole. At CLS, our X-Factor theme, which is based on our use of smart beta ETFs, has…
The Power of FinTech
December 7, 2016
Content provided by Brian Towner, CLS Separate Account Product Manager Technology can be a powerful tool, especially in the financial services industry. Technological advances continue to help shape and evolve advisors’ capabilities, which often trickle down into tangible benefits for investors. However, often times, initial launches of new technology can cause confusion for the end user,…
Money Market Reform
December 2, 2016
Content provided by Marc Pfeffer, Senior Portfolio Manager Money market funds have been around since the 1970s. They have been a primary tool and source of liquidity for both retail and institutional investors for more than 40 years and have trillions of dollars of cash invested in them. I helped create a money market fund…
The Third P: Process
November 30, 2016
Content provided by Rusty Vanneman CFA, CMT, CLS Chief Investment Officer In previous commentary, I wrote about the “Five Ps” of the money manager’s due diligence process: People, Philosophy, Process, Positioning, and Performance — in that order. Each of the Five Ps should be addressed by the person selecting an investment advisor. Ultimately, it’s about…