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 […]
DC Plans Slow to Adopt Liquid Alts…But Why?
A recent article on Wealth Management.com titled “Liquid Alts in DC Plans? Don’t Hold Your Breath” discusses the relatively slow adoption of Liquid Alts by defined contribution (DC) Plans relative to what Defined Benefit Plans (DB) have done. The arguments for liquid alts, as the article presents, include managing return and risk management, managing volatility, […]
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 […]
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 […]
Largest University Endowments Afford Their Schools Competitive Advantage
A recent article by CNBC economics reporter John W. Schoen provides an in-depth look into reasons behind the rising cost of higher education in the U.S. It’s a complicated issue, with many moving parts. The after-effects of the 2008 recession, expanding student services, required budgetary expansion in state budgets, such as pensions, healthcare and Medicaid, […]
ETF.com Award Winners Announced
ETF.com announced its 2014 award winners at its annual banquet held in New York City on Thursday. Endowment IndexTM calculated by Nasdaq OMX® was a finalist for Index of the Year. The Index of the Year award went to the Bloomberg U.S. Dollar Spot Index. Other category winners included: ETF of the Year: Wisdom Tree […]
ETF Investor Psychology
To be successful at anything, requires discipline. In athletics, you must train your body to make certain movements at certain times so that during competition, those movements become second nature and you can perform them without thinking. To be healthy, one must be disciplined to eat right and get proper exercise. And to be successful, […]
Investors in this iShares Frontier ETF face unusually high capital gains obligation
One of the reasons ETFs have been adopted so widely is that ETFs are typically very tax-efficient investments, especially when compared to mutual funds, because their structure typically allows them to avoid shareholder distributions. The operative word in the opening sentence is typically. This year, one particular ETF, the iShares MSCI Frontier Markets 100 ETF […]
Use of Liquid Alts Growing in Self-Directed IRAs
A recent article at WealthManagement.com discussed that interest in self-directed IRAs is growing. A few reasons for this are that more people have begun to accumulate sizeable assets in their retirement plans. and are looking to diversify their portfolios beyond stocks, bonds and mutual funds. As such, there tends to be a greater appetite for alternative assets […]
Why have some target date funds recently increased their equity allocation?
Blackrock, Fidelity and Pacific Investment Management Co have increased their equity allocation within their target date funds in the past year. These shifts have consultants, advisors and analysts questioning not only the reasons behind the move, but the potential consequences, especially if the recent market correction would expand. A few excerpts: “The shared characteristic these funds […]
