Category: Investing
390 posts categorized as "Investing"
Changing Face of Technology
July 18, 2013
Content Provided by Scott Kubie, CLS Senior Portfolio Manager In 1999, S&P and MSCI jointly created the Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS®) codes to classify companies in various groups. Technology was destined to play a big part in the standard because the GICS were created during the height of the technology bubble. It is interesting to…
It’s All About the Quality, Baby
July 17, 2013
Content provided by Matt Santini, CLS Portfolio Manager Blind yield buying has come back to haunt those who have never bothered to peek. And, since investors are rarely alone and adhere to crowdsourcing, the impact that has rippled through the markets has impacted our sacred defensive sectors. Utilities, REITS, telecom, high yielding credit, and preferred…
Two Over-Rated Performance Numbers
July 11, 2013
Content provided by Rusty Vanneman, CLS Chief Investment Officer There are a few performance numbers that investors like to examine, which quite frankly, are over-rated in my opinion. The first is the year-to-date (YTD) return. While admittedly a YTD return may provide some valuable context behind a portfolio’s behavior, it’s easy to overemphasize YTD returns…
ETF Duress
July 9, 2013
Content provided by Grant Engelbart, CLS Research/Portfolio Analyst With the recent volatility in fixed income and emerging markets, ETFs have come under the microscope for being less-than-perfect investment vehicles. The Financial Times (FT) published an article on June 20 that ruffled some feathers among those in the ETF industry, to say the least. Let’s briefly…
Learning a new language: Investor-ese
July 8, 2013
Content provided by Sierra Morris, CLS Junior Investment Research Analyst Coming into the investment field as a fresh college graduate, I knew there would be many things that I would be expected to learn. Advanced reasoning, presentation, and excel skills were among my expectations; however a foreign language was not. After my first meeting at…
Fixed Income Markets React To The Fed
July 2, 2013
Content provided by Josh Jenkins, CLS Research/Portfolio Analyst For the second time this quarter, the Fed has indicated that we may be getting closer to a reduction in the current quantitative easing program. Since the Q&A given by Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke on June 19, fixed income markets have fallen significantly. The frequently quoted 10-year…
Growing Opportunity for Advisors
July 1, 2013
Currently, more than $16 trillion is invested in retirement plans, and that number is expected to increase by 40 percent, to $22 trillion in the next three years. That means there are tremendous opportunities for financial advisors to take on some of the fiduciary responsibility for these plans and bring a complete solution to plan…
What a Week to Take a Vacation!
June 21, 2013
Content by Rusty Vanneman, CLS Chief Investment Officer Despite being in the northern Rockies helping celebrate my parents 50th wedding anniversary, the global financial markets are not helping me keep my eyes off the screens. It’s also a shame that I can actually get a signal on my smartphone on various hiking trails that I’ve…
A Rising Tide Lifts All Boats…Really?
June 18, 2013
Content by Matt Santini, CLS Portfolio Manager For the mariners amongst us, we know the above statement is a gross generalization. An anchor’s rode must have enough scope to allow for the biggest tides, especially those encountered during a storm surge. Two scenarios can happen: Either the mooring pulls from the bottom, or the…
Apple: Where Did the Innovation Go?
June 11, 2013
Content provided by Case Eichenberger, CLS Internal Wholesaler Apple Inc. has a long track record of being industry innovators. Steve Jobs started the tech giant, got fired by the board, and eventually hired back. He brought us (as if I need to tell you) the iPod, iPhone, and iPad. Jobs and Apple basically redefined some…