Blog

Endowment Index Press Releases Discontinued

SEC Marketing Rule 206(4)-1, places new requirements on the distribution of hypothetical performance on investment advisers. To comply with the Rule, ETF Model Solutions will no longer provide Endowment Index® performance data via press release. Investment professionals, institutional investors, endowment managers, family office staff and accredited investors who wish to continue to receive Endowment Index® performance data should visit EndowmentIndex.com and sign up to receive future updates directly The Endowment Index®...

ETFMS’ Prateek Mehrotra Named to Wisconsin Titan 100

Titan CEO and headline sponsor Wipfli LLP are pleased to announce Prateek Mehrotra, Chief Investment Officer, Endowment Wealth Management as a 2023 Wisconsin Titan 100. The Titan 100 program recognizes Wisconsin’s Top 100 CEO’s & C-level executives. They are the area’s most accomplished business leaders in their industry using criteria that includes demonstrating exceptional leadership, vision, and passion. Collectively, the 2023 Wisconsin Titan 100 and their companies employ more...

Bloomberg: Real Assets Position University of Texas to Surpass Harvard as the Wealthiest School

In 2018, The University of Texas System overtook Yale’s endowment as the second-richest US university. Now, the UT system is positioned to take the top spot. The University of Texas oversees 2.1 million acres in the Permian Basin, a vast oil rich region in Texas. UT System’s endowment is unique as crude and natural gas make up a significant portion of the portfolio. Many universities are shying away from...

Endowments Reporting Large Gains in FY2021

University endowments are reporting strong portfolio performance for the fiscal year ended 6/30/2021. For example, Vanderbilt +57%, Washington University in St. Louis +65%, Michigan State +41% are just a few of the stellar returns posted by college endowment portfolios for the fiscal year ended June 30.  The magnitude of these gains is attributable to several factors, including depressed index prices in 2020 due to Covid, the strong rebound in...

Endowments Slow to Adopt Digital Assets

U.S Endowments are not jumping on the crypto bandwagon as quickly as other institutions.  Of the Endowment/Foundation respondents to Fidelity’s 2021 Institutional Investor Digital Assets Study, just 13% of U.S. endowments and foundations reported they do not currently buy or invest in digital assets.  Of the pension and endowment respondents, just 3% reported exposure. This lags HNW investors (15%), financial advisors (43%), and family offices (47%) in terms of...

Do You Know What is in Your Thematic ETF?

Part of the ETF marketing machine is launching thematic ETFs with a catchy symbol based on the latest trends.  However, not always does the ETF offer exposure to the desired theme as you might think it should.  For example, some investing themes may be too narrow and do not have enough established public companies trading in that niche to create a diversified portfolio that provides significant exposure to that...

21Shares Teams Up With Cathie Wood’s ARK on Proposed Bitcoin ETF

21Shares filed this week for a Bitcoin ETF. 21Shares and Ark join a host of other firms, including VanEck, Fidelity, First Trust seeking to be the first bitcoin ETF in the U.S. approved by the SEC.  You can view the S-1 Registration filing here.  

New ESG ETF Sees to Provide Active Corporate Governance Oversight

The Engine No. 1 Transform 500 ETF (symbol: VOTE) will invest in a market-cap weighted index of the 500 largest U.S. stocks, tracking the Morningstar U.S. Large Cap Select Index. Unlike a passive Vanguard S&P 500 Index fund, investors in the ETF will also get a team of active investors who vote carefully on shareholder issues, set rigorous goals for boardrooms, and have the ability to successfully run change...

Fidelity Adds Tools to Improve Wealthscape Advisor Platform.

Late last week Fidelity Institutional announced the addition of various tools to improve its advisor platform, Wealthscape.  Digital service tools to make navigation more efficient, including virtual assistant and search, Smart Walkthroughs to facilitate task guides and best practices.  You can read more about Fidelity’s new Wealthscape tools at WealthManagement.com.  ETF Model Solutions’ Endowment Target Risk models (Conservative/Moderate/Aggressive) are available through Fidelity’s Separate Accounts Network.

Preserving Your Mental Health

The challenges we all face today are unique and significant. The Coronavirus has unleashed uncertainty, economic pain and shelter-in-place for much of the population. Any one of those alone can impact our mental health; the combination of all three can wreak havoc on us. It is completely normal to experience feelings of loneliness, fear and anxiety during these unprecedented times. We may not be able to control the initial...