Category: Investing
390 posts categorized as "Investing"
Fed Takeaways: December is Alive!
November 17, 2015
Content provided by Marc Pfeffer, CLS Senior Portfolio Manager We saw two key changes in the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC)’s October statement. First, the committee removed this earlier mention: “recent global and financial developments may restrain economic activity somewhat and are likely to put further downward pressure on inflation in the near term.” That…
A Smart Idea
November 4, 2015
Content provided by Rusty Vanneman, CFA, CLS Chief Investment Officer Smart beta ETFs, sometimes known as strategic beta ETFs, represent the fastest-growing segment of the booming ETF landscape – and for good reasons. In 2014, smart beta accounted for $170 billion in assets, according to a report for Institutional Investor by Howard Moore. The concept…
Seeing (The Wrong) Stars
October 28, 2015
Content provided by Case Eichenberger, CLS Client Portfolio Manager CLS portfolio managers often get questions from clients about Morningstar’s renowned star rating system. But these days, the questions are more commonly about exchange-traded funds (ETFs) than mutual funds. Some of the most common ones are: Why do some ETFs that CLS uses have low Morningstar…
Back to the Future!
October 23, 2015
Content provided by Grant Engelbart, CFA, CLS Portfolio Manager October 21, 2015 was a great day. It was the day that Marty McFly and Doc Brown traveled to in Back to the Future Part II! The “prophecy” failed to be completely true – the Cubs still haven’t made it to the World Series despite their…
The Value of Risk Budgeting
October 20, 2015
Content provided by Joe Smith, CFA, Senior Market Strategist Last month, I had the opportunity to participate at the annual NorthStar Summit in Nashville, Tennessee. The event allowed me to get to know more than 75 of the most successful advisors we partner with at CLS. As I did, I got a sense of what…
What You Need to Know About Closed-End Funds
October 7, 2015
Content provided by Marc Pfeffer, CLS Portfolio Manager At the annual NorthStar Summit in Nashville last month, there was a lot of interest from financial advisors about CLS’s new active income strategies. Some of that conversation focused on closed-end funds (CEFs), which we’ve begun to use within active income strategies. Many advisors may be unfamiliar…
Investment Checklists
October 1, 2015
Content provided by Rusty Vanneman, CFA, CLS Chief Investment Officer Checklists are red hot, and for good reason. They work. That’s why doctors, airline pilots, architects, and many other professionals use them. The idea is so hot that The Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gawande is one of the most popular business books in recent years….
Investing Through the Emotional Ups and Downs
September 25, 2015
Content provided by Scott Kubie, CFA, CLS Chief Strategist More than any other season, fall brings greater emotional volatility. I’m not talking about the markets (yet). I’m talking about sports. The four most important sports to me are tennis (my son’s high school team), Nebraska football, Nebraska women’s volleyball, and baseball (Minnesota Twins). All have…
My Favorite Investing Books and Financial Writers
September 24, 2015
Content provided by Rusty Vanneman, CFA, CLS Chief Investment Officer Over the years, many people (especially those new to investing) have asked me to recommend the best financial books to read. Granted, the question has changed in recent years to also include blogs or websites, but the question is still essentially the same. Given my…
Cycling the Bridge of Retirement
September 16, 2015
Content provided by Kostya Etus, CLS Associate Portfolio Manager I recently took a trip to the beautiful city of San Francisco. Relative to Omaha, it is quite large and definitely has no shortage of fun things to do and see. Some of the highlights from my trip were riding the trolley, eating great seafood, and…