Portfolio Intelligence

Howard C. Greene, CFA, and Jeffrey N. Given, CFA, senior portfolio managers and co-heads of the U.S. core and core plus fixed-income team at Manulife Investment Management, join podcast host John P. Bryson to discuss current fixed-income opportunities, the factors driving recent volatility, and takeaways for bond investors. They also analyze how investments have performed historically during periods when monetary policy has shifted from tightening to easing. Finally, the portfolio managers offer their views on the prospects of a recession, consider how fixed-income investments may perform if the U.S. economy experiences a slowdown, and discuss what investors need to be thinking about going forward.

Bank failures and federal interventions injected more uncertainty into financial markets as the first quarter of 2023 wound down. Co-Chief Investment Strategists Emily R. Roland, CIMA, and Matthew D. Miskin, CFA, join podcast host John P. Bryson to discuss prospects for any further escalation of bank risks, the government’s capacity to deal with such scenarios, and the potential impact on equities and fixed income. Emily and Matt also assess the latest economic numbers, which appear to show a divergence between services and manufacturing. Finally, they explore whether the U.S. Federal Reserve’s latest interest-rate increase might lead to a pause or a reversal of the rate-hiking cycle, with potentially big implications for fixed-income investors.

When it comes to investing, women and men often differ in their approaches and their goals. Gain perspective from two veteran business consultants at John Hancock Investment Management, Julie Cronin and Sarah Walter, CIMA, ABFP, PMA, CSRIC, AWMA. Julie and Sarah join podcast host John P. Bryson to discuss the importance of women taking charge of their finances. Among the topics they cover: the biggest differences between female and male investors, why it’s important for financial professionals to focus on their female clientele, and why it can be important to serve female and male clients differently. Julie and Sarah offer tips on how to best serve each gender and present findings from case studies that are covered in our Women, Wealth, and Wisdom presentation. Finally, they share positive changes they’ve witnessed with respect to women in finance over the last 20 years that they’ve been working with women and investment professionals, and some of the areas they think we still need to improve.

With the first quarter of 2023 nearly half over, Co-Chief Investment Strategists Emily R. Roland, CIMA, and Matthew D. Miskin, CFA, join podcast host John P. Bryson to analyze the latest economic and market trends and consider portfolio positioning ideas for the rest of the year. They explore quarterly earnings season trends, the latest policy shift from the U.S. Federal Reserve, and the challenges stemming from U.S.-China relations and its impact on globalization.

Gail Parsons, founder and president of Lifecycle Focus, joins podcast host John P. Bryson to discuss strategies to help financial professionals manage stress, focus on resiliency, and deliver better outcomes in their personal and professional lives. She explores common workplace misconceptions about managing workloads and shares insight on practicing self-awareness and managing energy levels throughout the day. Gail also discusses how financial professionals can use active listening to build trust with clients and strengthen engagement. Finally, she shares tips to block out the noise from daily distractions and focus instead on what we can control.

Our Co-Chief Investment Strategists Emily R. Roland, CIMA, and Matthew D. Miskin, CFA, return to the podcast to explore how the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) has fared in 2022 in terms of managing inflation and unemployment. They also discuss the Fed’s anticipated policy shifts in 2023, where they see the pivot happening, and how the timing could affect portfolio positioning. Emily and Matt also examine the impact that China’s reopening from its strict COVID-19 policies could have on the global economy. Finally, the strategists offer insight on long-term portfolio allocations given today’s market environment.

In this episode, our chief investment strategists, Emily R. Roland, CIMA, and Matthew D. Miskin, CFA, analyze recent market movements and discuss what they’re expecting to see in 2023. They offer their views on the potential course of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s interest-rate increases in coming months, explore opportunities in equities and fixed income, and unpack the impact of U.S. dollar volatility on international equities. Finally, Emily and Matt discuss the market impact of the U.S. midterm election.

In this episode, Katie Baker, senior national account manager and model delivery lead at John Hancock Investment Management, and Bruce Picard, CFA, portfolio manager and head of model portfolios at Manulife Investment Management, discuss potential opportunities in model portfolios. They explore the potential benefits of leveraging asset allocation models on the business and the investment front, explain how using model portfolios could potentially be helpful to advisors throughout their careers, and identify what attributes to look for when researching model portfolios. Finally, Katie and Bruce discuss how their teams seek to ensure that the model portfolios they build align with the needs of advisors and their clients.

Howard C. Greene, CFA, a senior portfolio manager and co-head of U.S. core and U.S. core-plus fixed income strategies with Manulife Investment Management, joins podcast host John Bryson to discuss what goes into bond picking and why it's more than just forecasting interest rates. Howard also shares insight on how supply and demand components and the investing landscape play into his team’s decision-making. Additionally, Howard discusses the importance of the structure and process of the research team, and how they affect decision-making. Finally, Howard explores current opportunities in fixed income and explains why he thinks there hasn’t been a better time for fixed-income investing.

Our Co-Chief Investment Strategists Emily R. Roland, CIMA, and Matthew D. Miskin, CFA, return to the podcast to offer their takeaways from the third quarter, discuss their current views on equities, and explain how their outlook has evolved. The strategists also share the concerns they're hearing from financial advisors and investors about equity and fixed-income portfolio positioning. Finally, Emily and Matt discuss current U.S. Federal Reserve interest-rate policy and offer ideas on what investors may want to watch as the year comes to a close.