Advisor Success Series

Are dividends still relevant in today’s market environment more fixated on ‘splashier’ investment themes, whether SPACs, cryptocurrencies, or the next dominant technology play? We have the pleasure of hosting Nathan Eigerman who recently published a white paper on the importance of dividend investing, even in today’s market environment where dividend payouts seem like an afterthought for realizing total returns in the equity markets.  You may be surprised that dividend investing has generally been a winning strategy over the last two decades, how dividends reflect positive signals on the part of company management, and how dividends can be systematically incorporated into an index designed to provide a higher yielding portfolio with comparable market risk.  Value Line Disclosure

In this episode, we catch up with Dimensional Funds on Sustainability Investing, following up on our December 2019 podcast.  We discuss the landscape of ESG investing and the current challenges facing investors given the increased popularity.  We discuss the tradeoffs to ESG investing and what investors are potentially giving up.  In particular, we focus on how investors can invest for sustainability while maintaining exposures to dimensions of higher expected returns (i.e. Fama/French risk factors). 

It’s been just over a year when we last spoke with Jason Bloom at Inside ETF right before the pandemic shutdown.  Part retrospective, part forward-looking, we discuss the market environment from what we saw a year ago versus what we’re seeing today.  Listen to Jason’s thoughts on the reflation trade that has propelled commodity prices from their pandemic lows while also driving up interest rates. 

In this episode, we catch up with Dave Nadig, Chief Investment Officer and Director of Research at ETF Trends and ETF Database (owned by ETF Flows, LLC).  We discuss how exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”) fared during the March 2020 market meltdown, Dave’s outlook for the fund industry looking ahead, how we might see renewed interest in traditional active management, and the fund disintermediation threats posed by up-and-coming financial technologies such as direct indexing and digital assets. 

In this episode, we are pleased to be joined by Ric Edelman, Founder of Edelman Financial Engines and, more recently, Founder of RIA Digital Assets Council (RIADAC).  We dive into the recent surge in investor appetite for digital assets, such as cryptocurrencies embodied by Bitcoin and Etherium, discuss the differences between digital assets and stable coins, and hear about Ric’s goal of providing digital asset education to the financial advisor community.

In this episode, Matt Shute is joined by his colleague Ed Schweitzer to discuss the behavioral "coach" role that financial advisors take on when working with clients. Ed recently joined the firm and brings a great deal of insight into how successful advisors work with clients to ensure they reach their financial goals. 

In this episode, we catch up with Larry McDonald, former Lehman Brothers bond trader and current proprietor of the Bear Traps Report.  We discuss the shifting market landscape that could see a handoff from the government to the private sector as the world recovers from the coronavirus epidemic.  A bigger debate concerns whether the world’s infrastructure has the capacity to accommodate a post-COVID recovery, especially meeting near-term energy demands in the face of declining output.  And as payment moratoriums roll-off by year-end, will financial pressures across commercial real estate weigh down the broader credit markets?

In this episode, we dive into PIMCO’s newly released Secular Outlook and why we should expect a lower for longer scenario as the world tries to move past the COVID-19 pandemic.  We discuss implications around 1) China’s continuing emergence as a global economic growth driver, 2) continued electoral pressures stemming from populism, 3) rising climate-related risks with respect to corporate governance and capital raising, and 4) technological disruptions.  We also discuss opportunities and challenges for investing in today’s fixed income environment and why the pressures faced by the commercial real estate sector do not present the same systemic risks to the financial system versus what happened with subprime mortgages during the 2008 financial crisis.

Since the mid-March/April coronavirus pandemic market meltdown, broad basket commodities (precious and industrial metals, energy, agriculture) have enjoyed a strong recovery alongside other reflationary asset beneficiaries like equities.  Robert (Bob) Minter, Head of Investment Strategy at Aberdeen Standard Investments, shares his outlook on how the second act for commodities plays as we face some near-term headwinds such as U.S. government impasse over further pandemic spending and a renewed upswing of COVID-19 positive cases.   

In this episode, 3D discusses late-stage venture financing opportunities with Christian Munafo, CIO of SP Investments Management, the asset management arm of SharesPost.  In this episode, we discuss why retail investors should consider late-stage venture financing as part of an overall equity growth strategy, how they can access private companies through retail investment vehicles like interval funds and SPACs, and the investment opportunities presented in SP’s current portfolio of companies focused on innovation and disruption across large addressable markets.  Disclaimer:  Some of the names discussed are not held by the Fund, please consult the Fund's web page for a complete list of current Fund holdings. https://sharespost.com/marketplace/individual-investors/buying-private-assets/sharespost-100-fund/