News Mentions & Press Releases
Sticking to your principles feels good. But could it also be good for your portfolio?
That’s the question raised by “sustainable” funds, an umbrella term for a diverse group of mutual funds and exchange-traded funds that generally incorporate environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) criteria in their investment processes. Typically, that doesn’t mean simply avoiding “sin” stocks such as alcohol, tobacco and firearms companies. The majority of these funds take a more active approach. They may seek out companies that have a strong track record on pollution, product safety and human rights; buy bonds that fund renewable energy projects; or actively engage with portfolio companies on board diversity or other governance issues.
EP 002 – Rusty Vanneman
Today I’m joined by Rusty Vanneman, who heads up CLS’s Portfolio Management Team overseeing all investment operations at CLS – investment philosophy, process, positioning, and performance.
Today’s 10 Questions
[1:42] How is CLS changing the investment industry?
[3:38] Big investment themes for the coming years?
[4:49] What are investors missing on active management?
[6:08] Biggest market lesson learned in 2019?
[7:17] “Investing Dictionary”: What word would you remove?
[8:20] Two factors to invest in for the next 100 years?
[10:12] Hardest factor to quantify?
[10:30] Current view on on ESG investing?
[10:58] One bad recommendation you continue to hear?
[11:46] Free tool for business you would recommend?
Senior PM Shana Sissel speakers with TD Ameritrade Network’s Oliver Renick about tensions in the middle east and how that could impact crude oil prices in the weeks to come.
ETF.com: We’ve been covering the grain space quite a bit on ETF.com lately. (Read: “Floods & Tariffs Lift Grain ETFs“; listen: “ETF Prime Podcast: Grain Funds Pop.”) You’ve also increased your allocation to corn ETFs recently. Why do you find CORN [the Teucrium Corn ETF] to be a compelling trade at the moment?
Grant Engelbart, CLS Investments: Generally, we’re asset allocators. We’re not all that tactical; we take a consistent amount of risk and make sure it’s balanced in our portfolios.
That leads us to use many different asset classes, particularly those with strong diversification properties. As of late, that’s been hard to find, but agricultural commodities tend to be driven by [fundamentals] completely diversified from the stock market, like weather conditions.
We’re value investors as well, so we’re constantly scouring the world for attractive value. When we look at an asset class like agriculture, one that’s been beaten down for years, we see compelling prices relative to their inflation-adjusted average prices.
Here in the Midwest—we’re located in Omaha, Nebraska—we’ve started to see changes in the supply/demand characteristics of the market that have led us to say this is attractive from a long-term perspective.
So we’ve invested in broad agriculture in general. We also use WEAT [the Teucrium Wheat Fund].
Lyft Inc. (LYFT) and Zoom Video Communications Inc. (ZM) are among recently listed technology startups mulling disclosures outlining their performance on environmental, social and governance goals, moves that come as investors increasingly look outside financials to evaluate a company’s risks and sustainability.
The U.S.-China trade dispute may have investors concerned, but it’s not the only risk weighing on markets. Rusty Vanneman, CLS Investments President & CIO, discusses with Yahoo Finance’s Seana Smith on ‘The Ticker.’
Protect your retirement portfolio with bond funds.
iShares Core US Aggregate Bond ETF (ticker: AGG)
iShares 3-7 Year Treasury Bond ETF (IEI)
Muni bond funds are attractive to investors in high tax brackets.
Nuveen Select Tax-Free Income Portfolio (ticker: NXP)
Vanguard Tax-Exempt Bond ETF (VTEB)
It all started on a fine August day in 2006. Bees were buzzing, China was surging, NINJA loans were flowing, and oil had just come off an impressive surge and was poised for new records. Exchange-traded products had been around for more than 15 years but had yet to reach their more recent levels of rapid growth. Investors wanted exposure to high-flying oil prices, and they wanted better tax treatment. In came Barclay’s, ready to raise the exchange-traded note (ETN) industry to new heights. The Barclays iPath S&P GSCI Crude Oil Total Return Index ETN (original ticker OIL) was born.
It didn’t take long before assets began to build in the product – helped, no doubt, by “peak oil” worries and insatiable demand from the rest of the world. Additional ETNs were issued throughout 2008 and 2009, and that was met with increased volumes in the product. (See issuance level in orange and net assets in green on chart below. More on this later.)
To what end should dividends drive an investor to invest? Truly, every dividend has its beginning, friends — at least in terms of how to start buying the stocks that offer them.
Aside from the obvious “which stocks” question, there’s no shame in studying the basics to get there. Answering these questions will help:
— Does a healthy dividend equal a healthy stock?
— How come not all stocks offer them?
— What are those dividend do’s and don’ts?
In basic terms, a dividend is a payment companies extend to shareholders as a result of quarterly excess earnings. And they can fatten portfolios over time. Experts contend that dividends can open the door to reliable returns, with the goodies sometimes streaming in for generations. What’s more, reinvested dividends over time can accumulate a large number of additional shares, which ignite the dividend’s initial value if the shares appreciate.
But before you rush for the nearest dividend gusher, take note that the digits aren’t always what they seem.