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Skill Sets for Students Seeking Careers as a Financial Adviser
College graduates looking for a career in financial planning or for an investment adviser would do well to focus on taking courses and building a skill set that extends beyond investments or analytical skills. Certainly a passion for investments and the financial markets is something just about everyone that enters this business possesses. But that’s not all that’s required. There are many other functional areas advisers need to possess... -
ETF Model SolutionsTM‘ CIO Featured in Trusted Insight Magazine
Prateek Mehrotra, MBA, CFA®, CAIA®, Chief Investment Officer of ETF Model SolutionsTM, and its affiliate, Endowment Wealth ManagementTM, is featured in an exclusive interview in the most recent issue of Trusted Insight Magazine. In the article, Prateek discusses his career path, along with the vision that lead to his co-founding of the two firms’ of which he serves as Chief Investment Officer, serving clients through a multi-family service model,... -
Mutual Fund Hits Investors With Huge Tax Bill
A change in the manager and a fund’s strategy may create a huge distribution to holders of the FPA Perennial Fund managed by FPA advisors, according to a story in the Wall Street Journal today. Because the fund has changed managers and its strategy, many of the underlying holdings were liquidated to transform the fund to its new holdings. When mutual funds sell shares of underlying securities, the short and... -
Fed Leaves Rates Unchanged This Week
This week saw one of the more widely anticipated Fed announcements in recent years as investors looked to see if the “zero” interest rate environment would begin to be put behind us. As was widely publicized yesterday, the Fed elected to do nothing based upon concerns of an economic global slowdown. First Trust’s economic team issued a report that provides the text of the Fed’s statement, along with their... -
Private and Community Foundations Report Lower Returns for 2014
The 2014 Council on Foundations-Commonfund Study of Investment of Endowments for Private and Community Foundations Study™ released recently shows that private foundations reported a 6.1% return for fiscal year 2014 while community foundation portfolios returned 4.8%. These returns declined from 15.6%, and 15.2%, respectively from 2013. Lower returns for domestic and international equities were the primary driver of the reduced results. Of the alternative strategies in the private foundation... -
Study: Managed Account Use In 401(k) Plans Adds Value
Employee Benefit Adviser is reporting the benefits that participants are suggesting that they gain through investing in managed accounts in their 401k plan. While overall usage is low, participants using them are realizing value, either in higher projected retirement wealth, lower risk exposure, or better diversification. The article was based upon a recent study by Vanguard. The entire article can be viewed on the EBA website. -
Comments on Recent Equity Market Volatility
Bob Doll’s comments on recent equity market volatility share many of our same viewpoints: Possible reasons for recent market decline: Multi-month decline in earnings Widening credit spreads Economic weakness from China/devaluation of the Yuan Slowing growth and commodity price weakness (deflation fears) Fed Policy uncertainty Market technicals Investor nervousness, skepticism, and uncertainty Near term thoughts- China’s economy is slowing, but not enough to cause a global recession US economy... -
3 Things Every Plan Committee Member Should Know
1. You are an ERISA fiduciary 2. As an ERISA fiduciary, your liability is personal 3. You are responsible for the actions of other plan fiduciaries. Your responsibilities are to act solely in the interest of plan participants. Following plan documents, diversifying investments to minimize the risk of large losses, and ensuring the plan’s expenses are reasonable are all responsibilities for fiduciaries. Read more at Napa.net or DOL.gov/EBSA . -
ETF Model SolutionsTM Named Finalist for Wisconsin Innovation Awards
Appleton, WI. August 13, 2015. APPLETON, Wis.—ETF Model SolutionsTM and its affiliate, Endowment Wealth ManagementTM have been named finalists for the Wisconsin Innovation Awards based on their development of the Endowment IndexTM(symbol: ENDOW) and related index-based investment strategies. The Endowment IndexTM calculated by Nasdaq OMX® has created national awareness, assisted in the development of new strategic partnerships, attracted investors in the firm, and have allowed the firms to expand their respective client bases. The firms... -
Real assets a crucial component in endowment portfolios
Real Assets, which consist of real estate, commodities, energy, infrastructure, natural resources and master limited partnerships are utilized by many of the nation’s wealthiest endowments, but individual investors can also benefit from incorporating real assets into their portfolios. Prateek Mehrotra MBA, CFA, CAIA, CIO of ETF Model SolutionsTM outlines how real assets can provide greater portfolio diversification and protection against periods of high inflation better than traditional stock and...