Category: Investing

Fed Takeaways: December is Alive!

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… Continue reading Fed Takeaways: December is Alive!

A Smart Idea

Cute little student looking at lightbulb over head, symbolizing smart student having idea

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… Continue reading A Smart Idea

Seeing (The Wrong) Stars

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… Continue reading Seeing (The Wrong) Stars

Back to the Future!

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… Continue reading Back to the Future!

What You Need to Know About Closed-End Funds

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… Continue reading What You Need to Know About Closed-End Funds

Investing Through the Emotional Ups and Downs

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… Continue reading Investing Through the Emotional Ups and Downs

My Favorite Investing Books and Financial Writers

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… Continue reading My Favorite Investing Books and Financial Writers