Gaining Perspective

Matthew Bartolini has recently recommended cybersecurity protection, housing and healthcare stocks for Q4 of 2019. He has also commented on the fact that fixed-income ETFs have recorded record inflows for 2019, and has likened investing the context of weakness in the U.S. manufacturing sector to “driving with the check engine light on.” We discuss those calls as well as other key developments in the ETF industry.

In the U.S., between one quarter and one third of all assets are managed with an ESG/SRI mandate. Outside the U.S., that percentage is even higher. So I am going to explore what must be an unpopular topic – investing in so-called “sin” stocks. I am talking with the co-managers of the Vitium Global Fund – formerly the Vice Fund. That fund buys what most ESG/SRI investors scorn: stocks in the tobacco, alcoholic beverage, gaming and aerospace/defense industries.

We discuss Neil Hennessy’s thoughts on the market as 2019 concludes, along with his 2020 outlook. Neil explains the key tenets of his investment strategy and why he thinks the market is not overvalued. Neil spends a great deal of his time talking to advisors and he discusses the key themes he is hearing.

Andy Wilson discusses how real assets have historically provided investors with solid returns, attractive income, portfolio diversification and a hedge against inflation. DWS has a 45-year investment heritage and is one of the world's leading alternatives managers.

Our topic today is ESG/SRI investing – one of the most important themes in the asset management industry over the last several years. One of the questions I will explore is whether the importance, history and culture of ESG at the asset manager firm level is more important than individual strategies. Indeed, greenwashing has become a serious issue, as advisors and asset managers need to understand which companies are making a genuine effort to implement meaningful ESG/SRI policies, and which ones have succeeded in putting a positive PR spin on their efforts.

Global rates have fallen over the course of 2019. Indeed, trillions of dollars in sovereign debt now carry negative yields. This has forced income-oriented investors to look to non-traditional sources to find sustainable, low-risk yields. Ben Kirby discusses the Thornburg Investment Income Builder fund, which has had an exceptional track record over the last 15 years.

The first Litman Gregory Masters Fund was launched December 31, 1996. Litman Gregory Masters Equity was created because, as financial advisors, the team at Litman Gregory wanted more control over the mutual funds they used in its client portfolios, and it had specific ideas about how to build a “better fund.” Since then, Litman Gregory has been a pioneer in the development of liquid alternative funds and, in 2018, launched a high-income alternatives fund.

Merger and acquisition (M&A) activity in the wealth management profession has reached record levels this year, highlighted by mega-deals such as the acquisition of United Capital by Goldman Sachs. Indeed, the total AUM of deals more than doubled since 2018, according to some reports. My guest today is David DeVoe, who will help us understand what is behind that trend, whether it will continue and what advisors should consider if they want to position themselves for a sale.

Growing your practice isn’t just about good marketing. If you’re looking to make a better impression outwards, look inwards first at the foundation of any future growth – your profitability. The need to achieve profitability is something that most business owners take for granted. But for financial advisors, achieving that goal is especially important, as my guest, Jim Palumbo, explains.

The conventional wisdom around digital advice platforms – what are commonly referred to as “robo advisors” – is that they will commoditize the investment process, and push traditional, human advisors to justify the value they add – and, hence, justify their fees – with services other than investment management. So far, however, the performance results of those platforms have been unimpressive. What do those results bode for the future of digital advice?