Endowment Index™ Posts Slight Gain For Week Ended 6/14/2019

The Endowment Index™ calculated by Nasdaq OMX® (Symbol: ENDOW) closed at 1,263.79 Friday, rising 0.17% from the previous Friday’s close of 1,261.66. The Endowment Index™ represents the investable opportunity for managers of portfolios utilizing the Endowment Investment Philosophy™ or otherwise incorporate alternative investments within a comprehensive asset allocation strategy. The Endowment Index™ measures performance for a multi-asset, globally-diversified, three-dimensional portfolio that includes Global Equity, Global Income, and Alternative Investments...

ETF Model Solutions CIO Prateek Mehrotra Named to Investopedia Top 100 Advisors List for 2018

ETF Model Solutions CIO Prateek Mehrotra Named to Investopedia Top 100 Advisors List for 2018 Appleton, WI – June 8, 2018- Prateek Mehrotra, MBA, CFA®, CAIA®, Chief Investment Officer of Endowment Wealth Management, Inc. and ETF Model Solutions, LLC has been named to the Investopedia Top 100 Financial Advisors list for 2018 The Investopedia 100 list celebrates financial advisors who have contributed significantly to conversations about financial literacy, investing...

The Next Markets for ETF Disruption? Hedge Funds, Private Equity and SMAs

Hedge funds and private equity are two large markets with huge fees and lockup periods that are ripe for disruption by ETFs, says Matt Hougan of ETFs.com at their annual Inside ETFs conference. Such markets will continue to drive growth in assets in ETFs, which currently account for only $5 trillion of the $150 trillion in global assets. Despite their growth, trading in ETFs is falling, suggesting that ETFs...

U.S. Markets “T+2” Shortened Settlement Begins Tuesday

When you return from the long Labor Day holiday, your securities transactions in equities, corporate or municipal bonds, unit investment trusts, and any securities comprised of these security types will be subject to a “trade date plus 2 days” ( “T+2″) shortened settlement, from the current”T+3”.  Thus, any trades executed on Tuesday will settle on September 7. The move harmonizes U.S. markets with most major international markets.  It is also expected to reduce...

University Endowments Reporting Significantly Improved Investment Returns Over Past Fiscal Year

Early reporting data from schools providing endowment performance for the fiscal year ended June 30,2017 suggest that university endowments boosted their investment returns significantly over the last fiscal year from 2016. The median gain for all colleges reporting is 11.3 percent, while the median gain for larger schools (over $500 million in assets) was 13.3 percent for the 12-month period ended June 30th as reported by the Wilshire Trust...

Multi-Asset ETF Portfolio Best Route for Smaller Endowments, Isenberg Professor Says

Hossein Kazemi, senior adviser to the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA) Association and professor of finance at the Isenberg School of Management at the University of Massachusetts, is claiming that many endowments should skip investments in illiquid assets such as hedge funds and private equity in favor of a multi-asset ETF portfolio. Kazemi argues that most endowments should not attempt to mimic the Harvard or Yale Endowment portfolio mix by...

The Other 496 S&P Stocks

In an article from the Wall Street Journal, Justin Lahart describes how the immense growth of Amazon, Apple, Google parent Alphabet, and Facebook has been propelling a substantial portion of the S&P 500’s gains. The article also touches on how the S&P 500 Growth index has outperformed, while the S&P 500 Value index has under-performed. It goes on to discuss the S&P 500 Equal Weight Index and its inability...

New Book Encourages Investors to Join The “Index Revolution”

Charley Ellis’ new book “The Index Revolution: Why Investors Should Join It Now” discusses how the investment landscape has changed and how investors are better served with passive, indexed strategies than active management.  A few stats investors should consider: Trading volume on the New York Stock Exchange increased from three million to five billion shares daily over the past 50 years. The dollar value of trading in derivatives rose...

ETF Model Solutions^TM Named Finalist for 2016 Wisconsin Innovation Awards

August 4, 2016.  APPLETON, Wis.—ETF Model SolutionsTM has been named a finalist for the Wisconsin Innovation Awards for the development of its automated investment service, www.MyRoboAdviser. com. MyRoboAdviser.com is an online investment service that provides automated, goals-based investment advice directly to individuals through any internet-connected device.   MyRoboAdviser.com was created for millennials and digitally-connected individuals who are increasingly using digital apps.  The service provides automated: Account creation Account funding Portfolio management...

A Look at Managed Futures

In a recent article on Bloomberg.com, Ye Xie discusses one winner in the Brexit rout. Over the past few days, managed futures funds were one of the few investment classes to boast positive returns. One fund, AQR Managed Futures Strategy Fund, rallied 6.3% over the past 2 days (as of June 27, 2016). What are managed futures? Managed Futures are an example of an alternative investment which adds diversification...