Category: Investing
390 posts categorized as "Investing"
Fed Alters Its Rate Hike Forecast
April 7, 2016
Content provided by Josh Jenkins, CFA, CLS Portfolio Manager Last month, the Federal Reserve (Fed) released its monetary policy projection, commonly referred to as the “dot plot.” As expected, the median estimate for the federal funds rate decreased since the last iteration was released following the December 2015 meeting. The current median estimate suggests the…
Make Way for FinTech
March 30, 2016
Content provided by Brian Towner, CLS Separate Account Product Manager I’m the type of person that likes to look back to see where I’ve come from, before looking forward as to what to expect. Try doing a Google search for “FinTech 2006” to see where Financial Technology stood just ten years ago and you won’t…
Keep Risk in Check (And Your Spouse Happy)
March 18, 2016
Content provided by Kostya Etus, CLS Portfolio Manager My wife and I recently went through our annual risk review (a process I would recommend to everyone). We looked through each of our separate retirement accounts to determine if we are comfortable with the level of risk we’re taking (based on both emotional and financial capacity)….
Success through Consistent Risk
March 9, 2016
Content contributed by Grant Engelbart, CFA, CLS Portfolio Manager The foundational principle of investment management at CLS is risk budgeting. Unlike other investment managers, our process considers risk first, and asset allocations second. It’s a disciplined approach that ensures our portfolios meet investors’ expectations and keeps them on track. Risk budgeting is important in two…
What Does Smart Beta Mean For Individual Investors?
February 25, 2016
Content provided by Joe Smith, CFA, Senior Market Strategist Smart beta ETFs are a popular topic in the ETF industry. This year’s Inside ETFs Conference, which drew almost 2,200 advisors and investment professionals, focused heavily on smart beta ETFs and what they mean for the industry. In breakout sessions and presentations, most of the conversation…
How to Save You from Yourself
February 23, 2016
Content provided by Kostya Etus, CLS Portfolio Manager At CLS, our focus on global markets and balanced portfolios has faced tough headwinds over the past year. But does that mean we should abandon ship? If we tossed our investment plans overboard every time the waters got rough (to stretch a metaphor here), we would be…
The Battle to Reach the Pinnacle
February 19, 2016
Content provided by Robyn Murray, Freelance Writer When Mark Matthews goes home for the holidays, there’s a routine. First, eat. Second, find the nearest basketball court. “We’re very competitive,” Matthews says, “everyone plays sports; everyone sings in the choir; everyone knows how to cook.” Home, for Matthews, is Detroit and a family of five sisters…
Three Thoughts On The Primary Season
February 18, 2016
Content provided by Scott Kubie, CFA, CLS Chief Strategist Now that primary season is in full swing, the politically interested among us can practice switching channels to see who is saying what, while reading FiveThirtyEight to dissect the polls. As the Iowa and New Hampshire caucus results rolled in, my thoughts moved to what this…
The CLS Investment Team Goes To the Movies: The Big Short
February 12, 2016
Content provided by Rusty Vanneman, CFA, Chief Investment Officer Recently, the CLS Investment Team went to the movies (after the markets closed, of course!). It’s a great time of year for high-quality movies, and our choice was the critically acclaimed, The Big Short. The movie is about the financial crisis that stemmed from the real…
Is It Really a Chinese Crisis?
February 1, 2016
Content provided by Paula Wieck, CLS Portfolio Manager The financial media has used some colorful language to describe China’s stock market this year. The words “turmoil,” “bloodbath,” “wreaking havoc,” and “ripples of panic” have shown up in quite a few headlines. But that might be slightly overstated. China is important; but it’s not everything. Why…