Gaining Perspective

The nearly unbridled growth of the ETF industry in the last 15 years has paralleled one of the greatest bull markets ever.   What are the key themes that are likely to drive the next leg of growth? What do the next 5-10 years look like for ETFs? My guest today leads one of the most prominent ETF providers, and he and I discuss those questions and more.

John Gebauer and I discuss the key regulatory issues facing advisors, including RegBI, form CRS, the SEC’s planned changes to its advertising and cash solicitation rules and the Michael Kiitces/XYPN lawsuit against the SEC.

What are the key issues that female clients face? How can advisors gain the confidence of those clients and ensure that their assets are protected under any scenario? What are the big mistakes that female spouses make when it comes to marital assets?

For the past 30 years, emerging markets have provided return enhancement and risk diversification opportunities for global equity investors. That has been fueled by the liberalization of the Chinese capital market, which comprises about a third of the allocation to emerging market indices. In 2019, emerging markets have been volatile, driven by changes in U.S. monetary policy, increasing political uncertainty and deteriorating conditions for international trade. My guest, Peter Gillespie, and I discuss whether these factors are temporary or will have a long-lasting impact.

The emerging markets (“EM”) equity asset class has evolved considerably over the past decade such that many active EM equity managers may find it challenging to create long-term alpha over the benchmark. Countries such as China and India are moving to the fore, historical drivers of growth are changing and technology, innovation and health care are becoming a larger part of the opportunity set. It has been difficult for EM investment teams to keep up with these changes. My guest today, David Dali, wrote those words in a recent commentary, and we discuss how he and his team are positioning to adapt to that changing landscape.

In May of this year, Invesco completed its acquisition of OppenheimerFunds, bringing its AUM to $1.2 trillion and making it the sixth largest U.S. retail asset manager. In April of 2018, Invesco completed its ETF business Guggenheim partners. Those deals come at a time when many investors were deserting actively managed funds, in favor of passive, index-tracking strategies.

MarketCounsel is known as the “adviser’s advisor.” It is the leading business and regulatory compliance consulting firm to the country’s preeminent entrepreneurial investment advisors. It delivers comprehensive, regulatory compliance solutions.  It works with startup investment advisors through its RIA Incubator program, and it offers outsourced compliance department capabilities through its RIA Institute.

One of the growing trends in the advisory profession is outsourced investment management – specifically using a unified managed account (UMA) platform. Many advisors have found that those solutions optimized their practices and helped deliver better investment outcomes for clients. I am speaking today the leader of one of the most popular solutions in that market, and we will discuss the trends and disruptors that advisors should prepare for over the coming decade.

One way to address market volatility is through real assets – natural resources, infrastructure, and global real estate. Those tend to have low correlations with traditional stock and bond allocations. I am speaking today with Michael Natale, who explains why an allocation to real assets can hedge against the risks in stocks and bonds.

One of the fastest growing and most active acquirers has been CAPTRUST, an RIA based in Raleigh, NC. In October, it acquired the wealth management business of Boston Advisors. In August, South Texas Money Management joined CAPTRUST. In June, it announced the addition of McQueen, Ball & Associates and Cornerstone Capital Advisors to its growing team. In 2018, CAPTRUST saw 21.5 percent revenue growth and $65 billion in new client assets. The firm now has more than 200 advisors across 43 locations and advises on more than $300 billion in client assets across its wealth management, retirement plan, and endowment and foundation lines of business.