This Week on The Fuse Show, Natalie and Brian talk with Phil Huber. Phil is a Managing Director and Head of Portfolio Solutions for Cliffwater, based in their Chicago office. Prior to joining Cliffwater, Phil was the Chief Investment Officer for Savant Wealth Management. He earned a bachelor’s degree in finance from the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University. He is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional, has attained his Chartered Financial Analyst® (CFA®) designation and is a member of the CFA Society of Chicago. Phil has been featured in a number of notable media outlets, including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, InvestmentNews, CityWire RIA Magazine and Bloomberg TV. From 2018-2020, he was named one of Investopedia’s Top Financial Advisors. Phil was also named CIO of the Year by RIA Intel in 2023. Phil and his wife Christie live in the northwest suburbs of Chicago where they enjoy reading, yoga and spending time with their daughter Hannah. He is also a lifelong, die-hard professional wrestling fan. Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Inc. (CFP Board) owns the certification marks CFP® and CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ in the U.S., which it authorizes use of by individuals who successfully complete CFP Board’s initial and ongoing certification requirements.

Key Takeaways

• [03:47] - Learn about Phil’s background, how he got into the industry and how he ended up focusing on alternative investments in particular.
• [06:36] - What inspired Phil to write his book, ‘The Allocator’s Edge?’
• [10:17] - In his book, Phil states “that we are living in a golden age of alternative investments.” Why does he think this and what ushered this change into place? Also, what is driving the move of active investing out of the public markets and into alts?
• [15:09] - Is technology helping make alternative investments more accessible to investors and advisors in Phil’s opinion?
• [23:00] - What should advisors consider when sizing their positions in alternative investments?
• [26:23] - What are some other hurdles that RIAs face to get into alternative investments and how might we be able to help them overcome these?
• [28:38] - What, from Phil’s perspective, are some of the biggest opportunities that advisors are overlooking in alternative investments?
• [33:32] - If Phil could give listeners one key takeaway on alternative investments, what would it be?
• [37:27] - If he could snap his fingers and make it happen, what futuristic or sci-fi tool would Phil wish for the most?

Quotes

[16:31] - "Most people don’t view fund structures as technological breakthroughs…[but] I kind of think of them though, as technology, in a way…I think of the ETF as a technology that has really democratized beta…and to bring down costs and increase liquidity, and so the ETFs have now become this ubiquitous fund vehicle that pretty much everyone uses as their default way of gaining market exposure." ~ Phil Huber

[23:18] - "[When allocating to alts] it has to be enough to matter, but not so much that it’s going to introduce behavioral risk into the portfolio or to the end client, so I think there’s a middle ground range there…of 10-30% of a portfolio across alternatives." ~ Phil Huber

Links

• Phil Huber on LinkedIn
• Cliffwater LLC
• The Allocator’s Edge

Connect with Us

• Meet Natalie Wolfsen
• Meet Brian McLaughlin
• Check Out All of Orion’s Podcasts
• Power Your Growth with Orion

Compliance Code: 2011-OAT-8/8/2024