Advisor Success Series

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/

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.

In this episode, we welcome back John Davi, Founder and Chief Investment Officer at Astoria Advisors. We discuss Astoria's market outlook, why it's difficult to predict recessions, and how to position for the coming year.

In this podcast episode, Matt Hougan provides an update on the crypto-currency landscape and why he is not concerned over the SEC's latest rejection of Bitwise's proposal for a crypto exchange-traded fund (ETF). Matt also provides valuable insights on the latest crypto-currency trends, increases our understanding of the crypto-currency investment ecosystem, and clears up some misconceptions.

In this podcast episode, Andrew Opdyke from First Trust shares a more sanguine outlook for the U.S. economy and equities despite lingering concerns over US-China trade conflicts and global manufacturing slowdown.

On this podcast, Matt Shute is joined by Brian Cooper from ProAdvisor Coach. Brian has an extensive background in financial services; coaching advisors and teams. Brian discusses ProAdvisors' keys to success for advisors and how they approach problem areas to bring the most out of any practice. For your free MindScan review- Text 79-79-79, or email Brian directly at [email protected] ! https://proadvisorcoach.com/

In this episode, we sit down with Hardeep Walia, founder and CEO of Motif. Hardeep discusses Motif's approach for applying artificial intelligence, natural language processing, and deep data analytics to build global thematic indices tied to the Next Wave of Innovation. This podcast highlights the increased systematization of the asset management industry by advancements in artificial intelligence and big data processing.

In this episode, Rich Farr, Chief Market Strategist at Merion Capital Group, shares his latest market and macroeconomic outlooks. Listen to why Rich is cautious in the near-term about stocks and credit pricing. Although he is not forecasting a recession, he believes gold and cash are preferable to taking on further equity and fixed income risk.

On this episode, Ben Lavine sits down with Brendan Ahern to discuss specific investment themes tied to China's growing economy. Brendan also shares some counterpoints to some bear market arguments concerning China's sensitivity to a slowdown in global trade activity and China's ability to manage its significant debt levels.

On this episode, Ben Lavine sits down with Phil to discuss his perspectives on some of the hot issues facing the markets as well as how an independent ETF provider can remain competitive in a sea of big box providers.

On this episode, Matt Shute is once again joined by Phil Lubinski from IncomeConductor. Phil has been a life-long financial advisor and a true pioneer in retirement income planning using time-segmentation. Besides retirement income planning, they discuss the changing landscape for advisors, the importance of succession planning, and technology. To learn more about IncomeConductor, visit- https://www.incomeconductor.com/

We are pleased to be joined by Larry McDonald, New York Times bestselling author and CNBC contributor. Larry is the founder of 'The Bear Traps Report', an investment newsletter focused on Political and Systemic Risk with actionable trade ideas and Macro perspective. We discuss with Larry some of the hot macro investment topics covering China, Brazil, Brexit, the U.S. Federal Reserve, reflation versus recession, and the state of the fixed income markets. Larry also reveals where he believes the next bear market will likely emerge from. https://www.thebeartrapsreport.com/

On this episode, Matt Shute is joined by Mike Lecours the co-founder of fpPathfinder. fpPathfinder creates checklists and flowcharts to help advisors be more diligent in the planning process. He is also a financial advisor and planner. Check him out here: https://www.fppathfinder.com/ As an added bonus, Mike sent over a couple of samples Here and Here.

We are, once again, joined by Matt Bartolini, Head of SPDR Americas Research at State Street Global Advisors. Matt shared with us some new research into sector-based investing from their business cycle analysis, using the Conference Board's Leading Economic Indicators (LEI).

For this episode of the Advisor Success Series Podcast, Matt Shute is joined by Matt Eilers of USA Financial. Matt is the Chief Business Development Officer at USA Financial, and head of the Coaching & Consulting division. This episode dives into advisory best-practices for a wide arrange of topics including seminar marketing, introductions, and many more. Be sure to check out Matt's podcast called the Advisor Elevation Podcast here: https://advisorelevation.com/podcast/

Part 2 of our series at the Inside ETFs Conference includes: [0:48] Ed Rosenberg and Rene Casis, responsible for ETF Offerings at American Century, discuss their outlook for Federal Reserve rate hikes in 2019 and why investors should emphasize 'quality' when positioning their portfolios. [6:27] Lukas Smart, Portfolio Manager at Dimensional Funds and Manager of the John Hancock Multifactor ETFs, discusses some of the differences on how Dimensional's strategies are implemented between the Dimensional mutual funds and John Hancock ETFs. [11:07] Gene Podkaminer, Head of Research Strategies at Franklin Templeton, provides his macro outlook for a global GDP convergence between the U.S. and the rest of the world as well as his views on multi-factor construction. [23:47] Luke Oliver, Head of Capital Markets at DWS, sees slowing global growth but opportunities within emerging markets, particularly China, and high yield fixed income as well as trends in ETF product development. [31:28] Matt Bartolini, Head of SPDR Americas Research at State Street Global Advisors, shares with our audience some new research into sector-based investing using business cycle analysis. [35:30] Alisa Maute, Head of Distribution, and Jeremy Schwartz, Global Head of Research at WisdomTree Investments, update our audience with their innovation of "modern alpha" and their development of advisor tools. Disclosures: -WisdomTree Investments, Inc. ("WisdomTree Investments") is the sole owner of WisdomTree Asset Management, Inc., a registered investment adviser, and is a substantial minority owner of AdvisorEngine Inc. ("AdvisorEngine"), a digital wealth management platform. WisdomTree and/or its affiliates has a financial interest in AdvisorEngine and its business. -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.

3D attended the February 2019 Inside ETF Conference down in Hollywood, FL, and took the opportunity to interview some of the attendees for our Advisor Success Series podcast. Part 1 includes interviews with the following: [00:00] Matt Hougan, Global Head of Research, Bitwise Asset Management, discussing the current state of crypto-currency. [11:56] Jay Jacobs, Head of Research & Strategy, Global X Funds, discussing the latest trends in thematic-based investing. [18:48] Phil Bak, CEO, & Charles Ragauss, Managing Director, Exponential ETFs, on how smaller ETF providers can compete for investor shelf space. [25:10] William Rhind, Founder and CEO, Graniteshares, on the state of the commodity markets. [35:09] Nick Kalivas, Senior Equity ETF Strategist, Invesco, shares his thoughts on the current market environment and how ETF marketing will shift from products to implementation

Once again, we have the pleasure of hosting Tom Psarofagis, Bloomberg Intelligence analyst covering the Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) Industry. In kicking off Season 2 of our investment-focused podcasts, Tom will share with us the an update on the latest developments within the ETF industry as well as key trends to be mindful of as we start the new year

In this episode, Matt Shute is joined by Chris Shea, CFA of CataMetrics. CataMetrics provides financial advisors and firms with tailored investment solutions and white-labeled sales and marketing collateral to help drive scalability and brand awareness. Chris has over 18 years in the investment management industry and has been involved in security research, portfolio construction consulting, investment product sales and portfolio management throughout his career. View their website here!

In this episode, Tom Goodrum, Institutional Fixed Income Strategist at DFA, will share with us the firm's perspective on the importance of understanding the key risks that drive fixed income. Many investors are familiar with the Fama-French risk premium framework that explains the majority of expected returns within global equities, but fewer are familiar with how this same risk-based framework applies to fixed income investing. Tom and I discuss how term premiums across government and credit yield curves can explain the bulk of expected returns in fixed income as well as DFA's views on the state of trading fixed income and why DFA hedges its currency risk across most of their global fixed income strategies.

In this podcast episode, we are joined by Kevin Orr, Nathan Eigerman and Joe Demmler, Managing Partners at Lee Capital Management. We discuss LCM's approach to managing tactical, risk managed portfolios through sector positioning and why investors will want to consider such strategies given the current market environment. You can learn more about Lee Capital by visiting their website http://leecapitalmgmt.com/ .

In this episode, Ben Lavine is joined once again by John Davi, Founder and Chief Investment Officer at Astoria Advisors to discuss the market turmoil experienced throughout October and share our firms' outlooks on some of the risks facing investors going forward.

Today Ben Lavine is joined by Lukas Smart, portfolio manager at Dimensional Funds or DFA. In today's podcast, Lukas shares with us his perspectives on the importance of maintaining a long-term investment focus for capturing the historical drivers of equity and fixed income risk-based returns – a particularly challenging exercise when many of those historical drivers, such as value and small cap, are not being rewarded in a period of technology disruption and social media-driven headlines.

On this episode, Matt Shute is joined by Steve Lewczyk of Trizic. Trizic is technology platform offering end-to-end digital wealth solutions to advisors and institutions. Steve is currently the CRO of Trizic and has spent his career within financial services and more specifically providing software solutions to the industry.

In this eposide, Ben Lavine is joined by Matt Bartolini, Head of SPDR Americas Research at State Street Global Advisors and John van Moyland, Head of Financial Products at Kensho Technologies, which was recently acquired by S&P Global Indices. Matt and John will share with us their perspectives on how sector indexing is evolving with the advent of artificial intelligence, natural language processing, and deep data analytics to arrive at more refined sector memberships that better capture the emerging technology landscape.

In this episode, Matt Shute is joined by Annalee Kruger and Bob Mauterstock. Annalee and Bob run Plan 4 Life (https://plan4lifenow.com/ ), a firm that focuses on educating financial advisors for the future. Specifically, they educate advisors on aging clients and have created an extensive curriculum for financial advisors entitled: The Elder Planning Specialist program.

In this podcast Ben Lavine is joined by Tom Psarofagis, Bloomberg Intelligence analyst covering the Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) Industry. Tom shares with us the latest developments within the ETF industry and key trends that investors should focus on in the coming year.

In this episode, Ben is joined by Darshan Bhatt, deputive chief investment officer at Glovista Investments based in Jersey City. Darshan will share with us his perspectives on the state of emerging markets and where he sees opportunities and challenges in the face of U.S. Federal Reserve tightening, higher commodity prices, and local unrest.

In this episode, Matt Shute is joined by Phil Lubinski. Phil is known as a pioneer in retirement income planning and more specifically the time-segmentation approach. Phil has appeared on PBS Nightly Business Report and has provided the intellectual capital for the creation of commonly used retirement income tools and he most recently cofounded IncomeConductor. He is considered a leading authority on retirement income strategies and has trained thousands of advisors throughout his career.

In this episode, Ben Lavine is joined by Arun Daniel, portfolio manager at JO Hambro Capital Management. Arun will share with us his perspectives on the state of the active management industry as well as his views on what constitutes running a successful franchise in an industry under siege from a passive indexing.

In this episode, Ben Lavine is joined by John Davi, Founder and Chief Investment Officer at Astoria Advisors. They discuss John's transition from sell-side ETF strategist with stints at Morgan Stanley and Merrill Lynch to buy-side ETF model builder. In addition, they also discuss John's views on the state of the current markets and why he believes we've entered into a new period for risk asset pricing.

On this episode of our Advisor Success Series Podcast, we are joined by Paul Berard. Paul is the head of distribution for the TAMP and ETF Strategist divisions of FlexShares, a division of Northern Trust Asset Management. Over the last 30 years he has worked with a diverse group of industry firms, teams, and advisors. In this podcast Paul shares his extensive knowledge of sales and best practices for financial professionals.

In this episode, Ben Lavine and our guest Justin Sibears will discuss an article published by Justin in August 2017 titled "Impact of High Equity Valuations on Safe Retirement Withdrawal Rates." They will focus on how a common retirement income strategy adopted by many financial advisors, the so-called 4% systematic withdrawal approach, is at risk of not meeting retirement income goals assuming a more muted outlook for U.S. stock and bond returns.

In this podcast, Ben Lavine is joined by Jay Jacobs, Director of Research at Global X Funds. They discuss the investment landscape for energy infrastructure, or the private enterprises focused on the transportation and storage of oil and natural gas. In addition, they discuss the major issues surrounding the general and master limited partnership structures, which represent the primary investment entities for how capital is funneled to the energy infrastructure space.

We are pleased to host Nick Hopwood, CFP, President and CEO of Peak Wealth Management, LLC, to discuss his path towards independence following his departure from LPL Financial and turning Peak Wealth Management into a successful hybrid RIA practice. Nick shares with us his insights into the successes and challenges he faced in making this transition, how he uses technology to run his practice more efficiently, why he outsources most of his investment management services, and why a more holistic approach to financial planning enhances the overall client experience.