Gaining Perspective
392 episodes - English - Latest episode: 11 months ago - ★★★★ - 18 ratingsThis podcast is hosted by Advisor Perspectives, one of the leading publications for financial advisors. Our podcast series brings you short interviews with top thought leaders in financial advice, planning, investments and economics. Each episode focuses on a specific issue facing financial advisors. Listeners will learn the key trends affecting the way they and their competitors operate and the steps advisors can take grow their practices and deliver better service to their clients.
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Episodes
How Top Advisory Firms and Finding and Retaining the Best Employees
March 23, 2022 11:00 - 20 minutes - 36.9 MBOne of the biggest challenges facing advisory firms is growing their human capital – hiring and retaining the best people. As in any service-oriented profession, there is no substitute for motivated, intelligent workers with a team-oriented attitude. Add to that the facts that the pandemic has expanded the need to communicate with clients in a remote work environment, and the job market has tightened with many more vacancies than workers seeking employment. My guest today will discuss how adv...
A Structural Arbitrage Opportunity in SPACs
March 10, 2022 12:00 - 33 minutes - 61.5 MBOne of toughest challenges for advisors and their clients is the relentless downward pressure on interest rates. It has pressured savers to stretch for yield and take incremental risk for the safest portion of their portfolios. Morgan Creek and Exos have a long history of providing innovation investment solutions to address the most pressing challenges in markets. Taking advantage of structural arbitrage has long been a preferred method of earning consistent returns. Morgan Creek and Exos h...
Achieving Diversity through Empathy and Authenticity
March 08, 2022 12:00 - 28 minutes - 53.1 MBRacial equity is imperative to ensure change in a world that is becoming more diverse. We all can lead with kindness and empathy when it comes to learning about the differences of others. We can’t continue to have conversations about racial equity that are not followed by actions that do more than level the playing field. C-suite executives are adding more DEI professionals to their leadership teams to drive internal changes. Organizations are promising upward mobility for Black and brown peo...
Is it Time to Refinance Consumer Debt?
March 07, 2022 12:00 - 19 minutes - 35.4 MBWith several rate hikes on the horizon, inflation weighs heavy on the minds of most investors. Yet, over two-thirds of individuals with debt are not planning to refinance or consolidate their debt in the next year. That presents a valuable financial planning opportunity for advisors. Half of Gen Zers and Millennials, those carrying the most student loan debt burden, are considering working with financial advisor this year according to a recent D.A. Davidson survey. My guest today, Andrew Cro...
Investing in the Digital Currency Infrastructure
March 04, 2022 12:00 - 28 minutes - 51.9 MBmanager, launched its first ETF, the Grayscale Future of Finance ETF (symbol: GFOF). It is built upon the thesis that the digital economy will boost global commerce, drive market efficiencies, and provide access to new pools of capital, while reducing the need for costly and cumbersome intermediaries. GFOF is the first equity ETF to track the investment performance of the Bloomberg Grayscale Future of Finance Index, which comprises companies representing three “future of finance” pillars: fin...
Finding Alpha in Bond Market Minicycles
March 02, 2022 12:00 - 15 minutes - 27.9 MBThe fixed income markets have changed dramatically since the global financial crisis, providing the opportunity for disciplined investment managers to add alpha. My guest will discuss ways to navigate the changing fixed income markets, including the difficulty in consistently calling interest rate moves, how conditions in the credit markets have dramatically changed, and how his firm manages fixed income.
Using Free-Cash Flow to Invest in Value Stocks
February 24, 2022 12:00 - 19 minutes - 36.3 MBAs we head into 2022, the two major fears clients face are inflation and rising interest rates. Multiple rate hikes are already priced in, which will be a challenge for once high-flying growth stocks. This is the time to consider value stocks – which have been outperforming growth stocks over the past six months. But how can advisors make sure they are making the right move to value stocks? My guest today will explain why investing in companies with high-free-cash flow is particularly attract...
Serving Multicultural Clients
February 23, 2022 12:00 - 26 minutes - 48.4 MBDiversity among financial planners improved in 2021, but the profession still has work to do to ensure all investors have the tools and resources they need to achieve successful financial outcomes for their clients. In this episode, James Seth Thompson will discuss his role in promoting financial literacy and expanding opportunities for diverse investors through his recruitment efforts at Bernstein.
How to Use Podcasts to Grow Your Practice
February 17, 2022 12:00 - 27 minutes - 51.1 MBPodcasting is the most intimate medium for communicating and building a relationship with clients and prospects on their time – through opt-in marketing. My guest today, Matt Halloran, has founded the only podcasting company that has compliance completely figured out. It specializes in helping advisors and professionals in highly regulated industries to start a podcast that turns skeptics into pre-sold fans
The Role of Gender in Delivering Financial Advice
February 08, 2022 12:00 - 17 minutes - 32.3 MBA recent study by Hartford Funds revealed that more than half of respondents believe that men and women have different financial needs. But only 24% said they want to work with a financial professional who caters to the needs of their gender. It is clear that investors simply want to be treated as individuals. To provide sound financial advice, it’s imperative that advisors avoid making generalizations based on age or gender. Instead, they must help clients plan for life’s circumstances by as...
What’s Driving the Usage of Alternative Assets by Advisors?
February 03, 2022 12:00 - 33 minutes - 62.2 MBFinancial advisors are increasingly abandoning the 60/40 portfolio for higher allocations to alternative investing strategies. They have found that alternatives enhance returns, diversify risk, and supplement income. In this episode, we will discuss the trends shaping the future of wealth management and driving growth of alternative product usage, including regulatory easing, product innovation, and the changes in advisor behavior brought on by the pandemic.
A Historical Look at Inflation
January 31, 2022 12:00 - 26 minutes - 48.3 MBInflation, as measured by the CPI, is at muti-decades highs. The last time the U.S. experience inflation at current levels was in the early 1980s. That was coming off the energy crisis of the 1970s, when CPI climbed over 14% and interest rates on the 10-year U.S. Treasury were pushing 16%. My guest is here to examine U.S. inflationary periods from 1965 through the current episode, the relationship between inflation and interest rates, and what to expect from this inflationary period.
The Future for Large-Cap Growth
January 27, 2022 16:28 - 21 minutes - 38.9 MBThe William Blair Large Cap Growth fund (LCGFX) has been one of the top performing funds in its class, returning 20.72% over the last decade, which puts it in the top 8th percentile of its Morningstar large-growth peer group. The fund focuses on growing companies in growing industries—what they call structurally advantaged companies—whose long-term growth is underappreciated by the market.
New Black Swan ETF
January 25, 2022 12:00 - 24 minutes - 44.5 MBLast month, Amplify ETFs expanded its suite of BlackSwan ETFs with the launch of the Amplify BlackSwan Tech & Treasury ETF (NYSE Arca: QSWN). QSWN is an index-based ETF that seeks to hedge against significant losses while still participating in technology & growth equities, without an artificial cap. QSWN is Amplify’s third BlackSwan ETF. The other BlackSwan ETFs, SWAN and ISWN, have together amassed close to $1 billion in assets. Launched in 2018, SWAN has shown to be an attractive risk-ma...
A Private Fund to Invest in Cryptocurrencies
January 19, 2022 12:00 - 36 minutes - 67.3 MBWith more than 12,000 crypto assets in existence and the potential to power decentralized transactions using blockchain technologies, crypto assets are a new and evolving approach to capturing highly sought-after benefits. Together with renowned index provider Nasdaq, Inc. and crypto-focused asset manager Hashdex Asset Management Ltd., Victory Capital has created a way for investors to gain broad-based market exposure to an emerging asset class for a relatively low cost and without lockups.
The 2021 RIA M&A Scorecard: Trends and Valuations
January 11, 2022 12:00 - 49 minutes - 91.3 MBRIA merger and acquisition activity achieved yet another milestone, crossing 200 transactions within a calendar year for the first time ever. The year’s 200th RIA M&A transaction was announced just prior to the Thanksgiving holiday. 2021 is the eighth successive record year for RIA M&A activity. For context, the industry posted 159 transactions in 2020 and 131 in 2019.
Northern Trust’s 2022 Global Outlook
January 04, 2022 12:00 - 23 minutes - 42.6 MBNorthern Trust, one of the world’s largest asset managers, foresees 2022 as a year of transitions. Central bank fiscal policy might become less accommodative or stimulative through a reduction in bond purchases. After years of virtually no inflation, investors are becoming more aware of the importance of hedging against it, given its recent sharp emergence. While there are indications of inflationary pressures decreasing in key supply chain bottlenecks, this is countered by strong housing an...
The Key Trends in the Retirement Income Industry
December 22, 2021 12:00 - 23 minutes - 43.5 MBResearch from the Alliance for Lifetime Income shows that individuals’ concerns about financing their retirement increased during the pandemic. Eighty percent of American pre-retirees are at least somewhat anxious that their savings may not provide them enough to live on in retirement.
Where a Top Manager Finds Value Outside the U.S.
December 15, 2021 12:00 - 28 minutes - 52.6 MBInvestors are taught that highly concentrated portfolios mean taking on more risk, but that is not always the case. In some cases, the perceived risk of holding a concentrated portfolio can be offset by owning high-quality investments. By owning a concentrated portfolio containing only the highest quality companies, investors can take meaningfully less risk than the market while generating greater long-term performance.
The Three Topics that will Dominate Advisor-Client Conversations
December 13, 2021 12:00 - 34 minutes - 63.6 MBAmong the many themes that advisors must consider in constructing portfolios for clients, three stand out: reducing volatility, hedging against inflation and incorporating ESG factors. My guest today, Chris Huemmer of Northern Trust FlexShares, will discuss why a low volatility approach to equities makes sense, his preferred ways to help clients address rising inflation, and how clients are looking to invest with ESG concerns in mind.
How Personalization Accelerates the Sales Cycle
December 06, 2021 12:00 - 30 minutes - 55.5 MBLast night, I went to the Positivly site and took its financial personality assessment. I was asked a series of 13 questions about my risk tolerance, investment priorities, and which causes – such as ESG – were most important to me. It took less than five minutes, and the results were quite accurate. It showed that I place a lot of weight on the safety of my investments and the purpose they fulfill, and that I don’t want to be burdened by worrying about my portfolio.
The Asymmetric Solution to Risk Protection
November 22, 2021 12:00 - 24 minutes - 44.3 MBThe bull market in U.S. equities has driven a need for investment products that protect against downside risk. But those products must offer upside participation because nobody will ring a bell when the market peaks. Advisors must consider defined-outcome ETFs, low-vol and long-short funds, structured insurance offerings and a variety of other products. My guest today is here to discuss a unique solution that meets the goals of upside participation and downside protection.
An Overview of Defined-Outcome ETFs
November 19, 2021 12:00 - 25 minutes - 46.4 MBAs we head towards the close of 2021, advisors are faced with the challenge of managing client expectations amid record-high equity markets, dismal interest rates, and heightened threats of inflation. In addition to market headwinds, the gap in future return expectations between advisors and clients is at all-time highs.
Has Market Dispersion Turned Investors into Speculators?
November 11, 2021 12:00 - 53 minutes - 98.8 MBThe U.S. equity market is characterized by extreme dispersion. Virtually all the gains in the last eight years have been concentrated in six stocks: the FAANGs plus Microsoft. Strip out those six stocks, and the S&P 494’s performance has been utterly mediocre, roughly equal to that of the rest of the world. Here to discuss the role that dispersion plays in fund management is Chris Davis.
Kevin Keller and Tom Sporkin on the CFP Board’s Response to the WSJ Article
November 10, 2021 12:00 - 35 minutes - 65 MBI attended the annual NAPFA conference a couple of week ago, which was held in Boston, where I live. One of the most important sessions featured Kevin Keller, and he spoke about the initiatives and priorities of the CFP Board. Kevin is here today, along with Tom Sporkin, to talk about those initiatives. We’ll also talk about the steps the CFP Board took following an article that appeared in the Wall Street Journal a little more than two years ago. That article cited some problems with the m...
Why Retirement Risk Requires Dynamic Planning
November 09, 2021 12:00 - 22 minutes - 40.8 MBRetirement planning is complex and risk in retirement is real. To improve the confidence clients have in working with an advisor, you need to prepare them for changes in retirement and avoid the talk of probability of failure and success. Ongoing adjustment-based planning aligns clients’ perceptions of risk in retirement with reality. This often results in small course corrections with many retirees finding they can spend more than originally planned. My guest, Justin Fitzpatrick, is here t...
Where to Find Value in International Markets
November 08, 2021 12:00 - 29 minutes - 53.6 MBWarren Buffett once said, "When a bad business meets a good manager, it's the reputation of the business that survives." He was making the point that the business is more important than management. But my guest today, Krishna Mohanraj, disagrees. Krishna is a value manager with a solid track record and is here to discuss his firm’s investment process and the opportunities he sees in the global markets.
Democratizing Alternatives for the Advisory Channel
November 05, 2021 11:00 - 20 minutes - 38 MBAlternatives have long been a cornerstone of institutional investment portfolios for their higher returns, lower volatility and diversification, but have historically been difficult for individual investors and financial advisors to access. In this episode, Andrea Mody, head of alternatives for Macquarie Asset Management’s Client Solutions Group, will discuss her firm’s efforts to democratize access to institutional-quality diversified private markets solutions for investors. We’ll delve int...
Unique Ways to Make Planning a Core Offering
November 02, 2021 11:00 - 26 minutes - 47.7 MBAdvisors must embrace financial planning as a core service. It gives them an edge against competition, provides a diversified revenue source and deepens their relationships with clients. But there is no universal process for planning, and my guest today, Justin Duft, will discuss how advisors need to customize their approach to fit their client base. He will also highlight how his firm, Commonwealth Financial, has embraced planning and how it supports its advisors.
Advanced Tax Planning Under the Biden Proposals
November 01, 2021 11:00 - 27 minutes - 50 MBThe end of the year is approaching, and time is running out for 2021 tax planning. Compounding the problem is the uncertainty around taxes. Pandemic, massive spending proposals and a record high level of debt have created an impasse in Washington and increased levels of anxiety among wealthy clients. Over the last year, the Biden administration and Congress have proposed several unprecedented changes to taxes that would impact investing for affluent clients. With the specter of tax refor...
Is the 4% Rule Still Viable?
October 29, 2021 11:00 - 23 minutes - 42.4 MBWith COVID-19 variants keeping retirement-ready consumers wondering what’s next for potential market volatility, many are reevaluating a once common rule of thumb for retirement: the 4% rule. It held up well for many retirees in the past, but most fixed income financial products like bonds no longer yield anything close to the 4% that would be required to support withdrawals. With rates actually hovering around 0%, what is a viable strategy today? FIAs, or fixed index annuities, offer so...
How Bond Issuers are Responding to ESG Issues
October 28, 2021 11:00 - 25 minutes - 46.2 MBBreckinridge Capital Advisors, a $47 billion, Boston-based asset manager, just released its 2021 Issuer Engagement report. It focused on climate change risk as a unifying theme. The report cited climate change as a risk multiplier for corporate, municipal, and securitized bonds. Climate change is an integral factor in Breckinridge’s approach to environmental, social and governance (ESG) risk assessment.
Introducing Scientific Fixed-Income ETFs
October 27, 2021 11:00 - 28 minutes - 51.7 MBScience and technology have disrupted the active fixed income asset management industry, as they have so many industries before it. With the conditions in place for scientific fixed income investing to flourish, investors have available both an alternative and a complement to the traditional active fixed income strategies that dominate their portfolios today.
James Montier on Whether Inflation will be Transitory
October 19, 2021 11:00 - 31 minutes - 58.2 MBIf there was a word of the year for 2021, it would be “transitory.” Ever since the Fed declared that inflation would be transitory in March 2021, analysts have challenged that assertion and, indeed, have questioned the definition of transitory. Inflation has broad ramification for financial plans, since it affects interest rates, the price of assets and whether cash flows will be sufficient to keep pace with rising prices of goods and services. Here to discuss that question is James Montier...
Achieving Diversity in the Financial Planning Profession
October 14, 2021 11:00 - 22 minutes - 41.3 MBDiversity initiatives are being prioritized now more than ever—just a few weeks ago, the SEC approved Nasdaq’s board diversity policy. My guest today is here to discuss diversity and inclusion within the financial planning profession as well as the efforts the CFP Board’s Center takes to increase diversity within the profession.
Inside a Global Fund with a Stellar 15-year Track Record
October 13, 2021 11:00 - 38 minutes - 70.4 MBThe Thornburg Global Opportunities Fund (THOAX) is a concentrated, focused portfolio that invests in 30 to 40 securities. Brian McMahon and his co-portfolio manager, Miguel Oleaga, utilize a flexible approach seeking intrinsically valuable companies not fully recognized by the broader market through bottom-up, fundamental research. The fund recently celebrated its 15th anniversary, and for the 15-year period ending July 31, 2021, Thornburg Global Opportunities Fund has a top percentile ranki...
The Importance of Marginal Tax Rates in Retirement Planning
October 12, 2021 11:00 - 37 minutes - 69.5 MBWe published an article in late September, Pay Attention to Marginal Tax Rates and Not Tax Brackets, that highlighted how the analytic framework for providing retirement income planning advice can be improved. It focused on three decisions that investors sometimes need to make: (1) whether to convert funds this year from a tax-deferred account (TDA), like a 401(k), to a Roth account; (2) whether to contribute this year to a TDA or a Roth account; and (3) how to tax-efficiently withdraw fun...
Minisode - Are You Using the Right Custodian?
October 08, 2021 11:00 - 29 minutes - 54.2 MBWith so much change in the RIA custody space and more options than ever to choose from, this is a good time to rethink the core pieces of your business. It is time to be proactive and weigh your options in light of the changes across the custodial industry. Doing nothing and staying put at your current custody provider might be the best strategy. But we are here to learn how to perform due diligence on different options.
Direct Indexing versus ETFs – Which One Will Dominate?
October 04, 2021 11:00 - 20 minutes - 37.2 MBDirect indexing has gathered a lot of buzz in the headlines and for good reasons; this advancement makes it possible for advisors to customize their clients' portfolios down to the individual security level. Direct indexing offers tax efficiency benefits and granular customization that ETFs can't match. But there's a tradeoff; it's not as accessible, requires account minimums, and is more work for investors to manage. Rahul Sen Sharma is here to discuss whether direct indexing has bright fut...
How Target-Distribution Strategies Deliver a 7% Yield
September 30, 2021 15:00 - 18 minutes - 34.1 MBSeeking income with Treasury yields at rock bottom levels and investors enduring widespread dividend cuts this year presents a daunting challenge. The HNDL ETF was created to address this challenge, and to meet the cash flow needs of its investors. It is a target distribution strategy that leverages a modern portfolio theory approach focused on risk-adjusted returns to deliver steady cash flow to investors while maintaining the principal over the long-run.
Minisode - How to Handle Difficult Client Conversations
September 27, 2021 11:00 - 16 minutes - 30.3 MBAs a financial advisor, you must be there for your clients during hard times and address challenging topics head on with them. The approach you should take depends on the relationship you have with the client and the style of advising that resonates with them. In this podcast, Corey Schmidt will discuss how to approach clients when a difficult conversation is necessary and why it’s important to prioritize those conversations. He will give us examples from his own client relationships.
Minisode - Investment Success is About Avoiding the Losers
September 16, 2021 11:00 - 17 minutes - 32.2 MBNew Age Alpha is an asset manager that takes existing investment universes and makes them better…by providing ETFs, SMAs and tools that avoid the losers. It has re-engineered active stock selection through a systematic and repeatable process that seeks to provide uncorrelated returns without additional risk.
Minisode - A New Data Platform for Data on Alternatives
September 14, 2021 11:00 - 20 minutes - 37 MBThe volatility caused by the pandemic has driven greater interest in alternatives to diversify portfolios and preserve wealth. It is part of a shift from passive to active management. However, getting information on these alternative assets has been disjointed. My guest, Mark Salameh, created AltsAxis to fill a major gap by becoming that one place allocators can access a wide range of dynamic, comprehensive, and objective data that they can use to make a well-informed alternative investment...
Minisode - A Fund that Targets Positive Change
September 14, 2021 11:00 - 29 minutes - 54.1 MBThe Baillie Gifford Positive Change Equity Fund seeks to invest in companies whose products and services are providing solutions to global challenges. So, it’s unsurprising that Tesla (transforming the automotive sector), Moderna (unlocking a new paradigm of medicine) and Safaricom (providing connectivity and access to financial tools in Kenya) are all holdings. But when I saw that it owns a semiconductor equipment manufacturer (ASML) and semiconductor manufacturer (TSMC), it piqued my curio...
Reducing the Compliance Burden for Advisors
September 13, 2021 11:00 - 20 minutes - 38.4 MBWith a history spanning nearly 40 years and a mission to cultivate meaningful relationships, Grove Point Financial, a boutique broker-dealer and RIA solution with large firm resources, serves over 500 financial professionals across the country and prides itself on its nimble, visionary, and forward-thinking approach to client service. It is a partnership of professionals who share the passion and strength to grow independent businesses that serve the clients and the communities in which the...
The True Story Behind Frank Abagnale
September 10, 2021 11:00 - 26 minutes - 48.3 MBFor decades, Frank W. Abagnale’s story has captured the imagination of audiences around the world as a modern-day folk hero—but the truth could not be more different from the fictitious autobiography he sold to Hollywood. Self-proclaimed as “the world’s greatest con man,” the true dimensions of Abagnale’s hoax have been revealed for the first time in a new book by my guest today, Alan Logan.
New ETFs Target Semiconductors and Biotechnology
September 08, 2021 11:00 - 20 minutes - 38.1 MBInvesco recently expanded its ETF lineup launching two new exchange-traded funds that capture timely technology themes – biotechnology and semiconductors. The new ETFs will track well-recognized Nasdaq Indexes with nearly 30 years of live track record; the Nasdaq Biotechnology Index and the PHLX Semiconductor Sector Index. In the last year, the advances of technology – in which semiconductors are critical – deeply impacted the way people engaged during the pandemic. The biotechnology space h...
Four Ways to Improve Team Efficiency
September 07, 2021 11:00 - 17 minutes - 32.3 MBSo, you’re in charge of a team, but you wonder many things about it. Are the members motivated, stressed out, or bored? Do they understand the mission? Is each team member the right fit? Julie Genjak tells us that getting these answers isn’t always easy because team dynamics can be quite complex.
Improving Financial Literacy in the U.S.
September 02, 2021 11:00 - 22 minutes - 40.9 MBWhile Covid-19 appears to be dissipating with the rollout of the vaccine, there is a persistent financial literacy epidemic that threatens the financial futures of millions. Financial advisors can serve as an antidote to this epidemic. My guest Andrew Crowell, is here to talk about how financial literacy programs, like the one that his firm, D.A. Davidson, offers in partnership with the YMCA, can positively impact urban communities and set teenagers up for financial success.
Minisode - The Future for Options-Based Strategies
August 27, 2021 11:00 - 29 minutes - 53.2 MBThe big story in the ETF industry over the last several years has been the growth of options-based strategies. Those products have accumulated assets at a rapid pace. They are offering advisors and their clients low-cost solutions that have return profiles, including downside protection and upside participation, that are not available in conventional strategies.