Advisor Success Series

We have the pleasure of catching up with Bob DeRochie, Fixed Income Specialist – Client Portfolio Manager at First Trust Advisors, to discuss the state of the fixed income markets following the significant recovery in credit risk during Q2.  Although much of the market is trading at rich levels, Bob still sees relative value opportunities across hybrid fixed income such as high yield, convertibles, and preferred equities.  But credit selection will be paramount as much of the ‘liquidity’ issues have been addressed by aggressive fiscal and monetary responses to the coronavirus pandemic. 

In this episode, we had the pleasure of catching up with ETF Industry veteran Chris Hemstead, now Director of Institutional Business Development at IndexIQ, part of New York Life Investment Company.  Chris reflects on last March’s market meltdown and how ETFs performed during this tumultuous period.  He also shares his optimism about the growth of the ETF market and the potential for innovative product development such as actively-managed ETFs.  Finally, Chris explains how active management can pick up nuances overlooked by pure passive-based approaches to portfolio construction, such as in the area of ESG (Sustainability) Investing. 

In this episode, Richard Taormina, Head of the Tax Aware Strategies team at JPMorgan Asset Management, will discuss the state of the U.S. municipal bond market during and after the mid-March capital markets meltdown and why much of the market has not fully recovered from the first quarter sell-off. The muni market is not fully out of the woods but is also presenting compelling opportunities.

In this episode, Matt Shute is joined by Andy McFetridge, National Sales Manager at John Hancock Investment Management. Andy provides insights into the advisory world and how advisors can efficiently and effectively communicate their value propositions to clients. To learn more about how John Hancock Investment Management and how they are helping advisors go to: https://www.jhinvestments.com/

3D sits down with Steve Sachs, Managing Director and Head of ETF Capital Markets at Goldman Sachs.  Steve shares his views on why he believes ETF capital markets largely functioned the way they were designed to do despite the significant price and liquidity dislocations during the depths of the March bear market.  We also debate about the Federal Reserve’s role in providing emergency lending and liquidity support and whether the Fed will be able to extricate themselves without causing major disruptions. 

We had the pleasure of speaking with WisdomTree Investment’s Kevin Flanagan, Head of Fixed Income Strategy, and Michael Barrer, Associate Direct in Capital Markets.  In this special episode, we discuss the disruptions seen across fixed income market pricing and liquidity – one of several fallouts from the Coronavirus pandemic.  In addition, we discuss the longer-term implications of the Federal Reserve and U.S. Treasury Department’s emergency initiatives to unclog the financial plumbing and making sure businesses do not get cut off from lending. 

We are pleased to be joined by Jeremy Schwartz, Global Head of Research, and Will Peck, Head of Corporate Strategy, at WisdomTree.  In this episode, Jeremy provides his take on how to make sense of the extreme market volatility this past month.  We then discuss WisdomTree’s foray into the digital asset ecosystem with their recent investment in Seccurency, a blockchain-based financial infrastructure company focused on the compliance side of how digital asset transactions do not run afoul of applicable laws and regulations such as know-your-customer.  One of WisdomTree’s goals is to position for a possible integration of blockchain technology into the ETF ecosystem that would revolutionize how investors can gain access to ETFs beyond the traditional custodial/brokerage account set-up.

3D attended the 2020 Inside ETF Conference down in Hollywood, FL, and took the opportunity to interview some of the attendees for our Advisor Success Series podcast. [00:00] Matt Hougan, Global Head of Research, Bitwise Asset Management, provides an update on the crypto-currency landscape including the recent launch of insured custodial services for institutional crypto-currency accounts, the emergence of stable coins and tokenization of financial assets, and movements on the regulatory front to launch retail investment vehicles. [11:35] Jason Bloom, Senior Director, Global ETF Strategy and Research at Invesco, provides an update on the commodity and fixed income markets in light of the January 2020 coronavirus outbreak in China. [22:51] Ed Rosenberg and Rene Casis, responsible for ETF Offerings at American Century, provide an outlook on trends in ETF product development including the launch of semi-transparent active ETFs. -The opinions expressed are those of American Century Investments (or the fund manager) and are no guarantee of the future performance of any American Century Investments fund. This information is for educational purposes only and is not intended as investment advice. The third parties listed are independent companies and are not affiliated with American Century Investments. Listing them does not suggest a recommendation or endorsement by American Century Investments.

In this episode, we are joined by Damien Dormer, U.S. Equity Portfolio Manager and Vice President at DFA, to discuss DFA’s approach to sustainability and socially responsible investing.  We discuss the importance of data integrity and efficient implementation of equity and fixed income portfolios oriented toward sustainable investing.

In this episode, we discuss Bob’s overall outlook on the fixed income market as well as cover some less-followed areas of fixed income and where he sees attractive relative value.  In addition, Bob shares his outlook on interest rates heading into 2020 and why investors should expect a steeper yield curve.  There is no guarantee that past trends will continue or projections will be realized. Investing involves risk, including possible loss of principal. Asset allocation and diversification may not protect against market risk, loss of principal or volatility of returns. This information is subject to change and does not guarantee future results. The information presented is not intended to constitute an investment recommendation for, or advice to, any specific person. By providing this information, First Trust is not undertaking to give advice in any fiduciary capacity within the meaning of ERISA, the Internal Revenue Code or any other regulatory framework. Financial advisors are responsible for evaluating investment risks independently and for exercising independent judgment in determining whether or not the allocations are appropriate for their clients. FOR INSTITUTIONAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION.