Today Rusty & Robyn are joined by Paul Baiocchi, Chief ETF Strategist at SS&C ALPS Advisors in Denver, CO. Paul Baiocchi is the Chief ETF Strategist at SS&C ALPS Advisors, spearheading the firm’s distribution strategy and execution for the ETF suite as well as the Select Sector SPDRs lineup of ETFs. Paul works closely with the distribution, research and marketing teams to tailor the firm’s messaging and client-facing content for the varied needs of a range of investor types. In addition to providing subject matter expertise in client meetings, Paul supports the marketing and PR teams while also aiding the research efforts of SS&C ALPS Advisors and Select Sector SPDRs. Prior to joining the firm, Paul was Vice President of ETF Business Development at Fidelity Institutional Asset Management where he helped build and grow the firm’s ETF lineup for six years while developing sales and messaging strategies for sector investing. Previously, he worked at ETF.com, building an ETF analytics platform, writing about the ETF industry and moderating panels at Inside ETFs conferences. Paul has been in the financial services industry for 20 years. He is a CFA charter holder, holds an MBA from the University of British Columbia’s Sauder School of Business and a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from California State University at Chico.

Key Takeaways

• [03:12] - Paul’s professional background and what led him to focus on ETFs, in particular.
• [07:04] - What is SS&C’s investment philosophy and how does it stand out as a firm?
• [10:40] - Paul’s overall outlook for the ETF industry moving forward.
• [14:42] - Where does Paul see innovation developing in the ETF industry moving forward?
• [16:20] - What are some of the obstacles to growth that Paul sees for ETFs going forward?
• [19:10] - SS&C ALPS offer more than 50 ETFs. Of this selection, where is Paul seeing the most growth and why does he think that is?
• [23:30] - Which of the aforementioned strategies are not seeing as much growth and why?
• [27:22] - Paul’s outlook on Active ETFs for 2024 and his thoughts on the evolution of Active ETFs as a category.
• [30:55] - What are some potential catalysts that might encourage Small Caps to start regularly outperforming?
• [34:48] - What are the risks of being in Small Cap indexing strategies, like the Russell 2000 or the S&P 600?
• [37:26] - What is Paul’s overall outlook on non-US stock markets, both in absolute and relative terms?
• [41:00] - What is currently Paul’s favorite investment idea?

Quotes

[15:42] - “There’s the ongoing sort of debate, and I have this debate myself, around tokenization of investment strategies [and] whether or not you can tokenize an asset class…Can you create a tokenized asset class of an ETF offering that allows you to provide that investment strategy in another format? That to me is another piece of innovation that might be 5 or 6 years down the road, or 10 years down the road, but is another driver of innovation as I see it.” ~ Paul Baiocchi

[26:12] - “Here we are in 2024, facing significant supply pressure on a number of key categories in the commodities space. We’re seeing energy prices start to bubble up again [and] we are also seeing weakness in specific commodities, namely natural gas…So the ability to be flexible in terms of what commodities you have exposure to, based on a really actionable model that the index uses to pick and choose among commodities, I think is a really compelling way to diversify an asset allocation, and we know historically that commodities can add a certain level of diversification to an asset allocation.” ~ Paul Baiocchi

Links

• Paul Baiocchi on LinkedIn
• SS&C ALPS Advisors
• “ATLiens” by Outkast

Connect with Us

• Meet Rusty Vanneman, Orion’s Chief Investment Officer
• Check Out All of Orion’s Podcasts
• Power Your Growth with Orion

Disclosure(s) - Orion Portfolio Solutions, LLC, an Orion Company, is a registered investment advisor.

1168-OPS-5/13/2024

Today Rusty & Robyn are joined by Harry Hartford, a Portfolio Manager at Causeway Capital Management in Los Angeles, CA. Mr. Hartford is the president at Causeway, fundamental portfolio manager, and head of fundamental research. Mr. Hartford co-founded the firm in June 2001 and is a member of the operating committee. From 1996 to June 2001, Mr. Hartford was a managing director for the Hotchkis & Wiley division of Merrill Lynch Investment Managers (HW-MLIM) and co-head of the firm’s HW-MLIM international and global value team. From 1994 to 1996, Mr. Hartford was a portfolio manager for Hotchkis and Wiley. From 1984 to 1994, Mr. Hartford was with The Investment Bank of Ireland, where he gained ten years’ experience in both international and global equity management. During this time, Mr. Hartford also managed the Irish Investment Fund, a closed-end country fund quoted on the NYSE. Before entering the investment business, Mr. Hartford lectured in micro and macroeconomics at Oklahoma State University. Mr. Hartford earned a BA, with honors, in economics from the University of Dublin, Trinity College, an MSc in economics from Oklahoma State University, and is a Phi Kappa Phi member. Mr. Hartford is a member of The Ireland Funds America Board of Directors.

Key Takeaways

• [03:46] - Harry's professional background and what drew him to the field of investment.
• [07:20] - What is Causeway’s investment philosophy and how does it differ from other international value managers?
• [09:27] - Which one of Causeway’s non-US value strategies is generating the most interest from end investors right now and why?
• [11:06] - Which of Causeway’s strategies does Harry think should be generating more investor interest in the current market environment?
• [12:08] - What is the argument for investing overseas, strategically, in a time where international markets have underperformed US Markets for several years?
• [13:50] - Is there a different argument for International Investing from a tactical standpoint?
• [15:31] - Potential catalysts that might cause the non-US markets to start to consistently outperform again.
• [19:52] - It seems like everyone is saying that the US Dollar is going to get stronger in the short term. What is Harry’s outlook on the US Dollar?
• [22:04] - What does Harry see ahead for International Small Cap stocks?
• [24:15] - What is Causeway’s “risk lens” model and how does it benefit their clients?

Quotes

[010:37] - “[Causeway Capital’s] Emerging Markets and International Small Cap strategies are primarily quantitative with a fundamental overlay, and they would be more tracking error oriented strategies.” ~ Harry Hartford

[20:53] - “There are things that are supporting that dollar at this point in time…but…you start to get concerned around the sustainability of the Federal deficit against a backdrop where the capital required to fund that deficit comes from overseas…and in addition to that, the absolute level of indebtedness is relatively high. So, I do worry that there are things that could derail the upward trajectory of the US Dollar and I would caution against getting overly complacent, simply because the dollar, for want of a better term, is the only game in town.” ~ Harry Hartford

Links

• Harry Hartford on LinkedIn
• Causeway Capital Management
• “The Boys are Back in Town” by Thin Lizzy

Connect with Us

• Meet Rusty Vanneman, Orion’s Chief Investment Officer
• Check Out All of Orion’s Podcasts
• Power Your Growth with Orion

Disclosure(s) - Orion Portfolio Solutions, LLC, an Orion Company, is a registered investment advisor.

Compliance Code: 1080-OPS-5/2/2024

Today Rusty & Robyn are joined by Michael Arone, Chief Investment Strategist and Managing Director at State Street Global Advisors. Michael is the Chief Investment Strategist for the SPDR® Americas Business at State Street Global Advisors. He is responsible for expanding State Street Global Advisors’ footprint and thought leadership effort through frequent contributions to the financial news media, speaking engagements and client interactions. Michael is a highly regarded speaker at industry conferences and is the author of several articles related to investment management practices. He is a member of the firm’s Senior Leadership Team.

During his more than 20-year career as an investment professional, Michael has served as State Street Global Advisors’ Global and EMEA Head of Portfolio Strategy as well as a senior portfolio manager in the Global Active Quantitative Equity Group. He has substantial experience developing long-only and long-short quantitative strategies and managing investment portfolios using quantitative disciplines. Michael has worked extensively with the firm’s global institutional and intermediary clients to help them identify investment solutions that enable them to meet their long-term financial goals.

Key Takeaways

• [03:28] - Michael’s professional background and highlights from his time at State Street.
• [04:40] - What really makes State Street stand out in this industry?
• [06:28] - What is the primary risk that Michael thinks investors are overlooking right now?
• [08:06] - Even though The Fed is still suggesting it will cut rates soon, it hasn’t made any moves yet, so what should the takeaway be from that?
• [09:27] - Why are growing government deficits and rising, bipartisan protectionism often two ingredients in Stagflation?
• [10:52] - How does Michael assess the current inflation trend?
• [13:02] - What are the potential odds that Stagflation actually occurs?
• [14:32] - How can investors better prepare for all possibilities, Stagflation or otherwise?
• [16:10] - What is driving the potential liquidity squeeze?
• [19:58] - Why don’t investors know more about the surprising outperformance of small and mid cap stocks?
• [21:20] - What should investors know about market concentration and “The Magnificent 7?”
• [23:10] - What are some surprises that Michael has noticed in long maturity treasuries?
• [25:30] - What is currently Michael’s favorite investment idea?

Quotes

[14:04] - “Maybe there’s only a 20% chance [of Stagflation], but it’s a chance that investors are not currently pricing in and they’re underestimating. They are pricing it as a 0% chance, and I think it is probably above that.” ~ Michael Arone

[26:56] - “The top 5 companies in the S&P 500, their market capitalization is more than 3.6x all of small cap put together. That surpasses where we were at the height of the Technology, Media and Telecom bubble, so I think you’ll get some mean reversion…I think small cap stocks are…under loved and that’s one of my favorite ideas for 2024.” ~ Michael Arone

Links

• Michael Arone on LinkedIn
• “Lose Yourself” by Eminem
• State Street Global Advisors

Connect with Us

• Meet Rusty Vanneman, Orion’s Chief Investment Officer
• Check Out All of Orion’s Podcasts
• Power Your Growth with Orion

Disclosure(s) - Orion Portfolio Solutions, LLC, an Orion Company, is a registered investment advisor.

Compliance Code: 0972-OPS-4/22/2024

Today Rusty & Robyn are joined by Brian Storey and Andrew Goins of Brinker Capital, Deputy Chief Investment Officer and Senior Portfolio Manager at Brinker Capital respectively.

Key Takeaways

• [03:47] - Andrew’s and Brian’s professional backgrounds and what they do in their current positions.
• [09:05] - Who have provided some of their key philosophical insights over the years and how have those influences impacted their style of investing?
• [12:10] - What is the elevator pitch for what the Destination Strategies at Brinker Capital are and what they are trying to accomplish?
• [12:55] - How do the above strategies differ from other multi-asset strategies that are available?
• [17:04] - How do they hone the art of Portfolio Management and how do Brian and Andrew interface in their day to day?
• [21:17] - Learn a bit more about the due diligence process for Brinker’s Destination strategies.
• [25:25] - When searching for managers, what are some of the key attributes they look for and, on the flip side, what are some reasons why they might terminate a manager?
• [27:47] - What is some of the risk management research that goes into their Destinations portfolio?
• [32:11] - What market environments might these strategies perform best in and vice versa?
• [37:49] - What are each of their favorite investment ideas currently?

Quotes

[16:03] - “[Brinker’s] use of…diversifying asset classes or strategies [sets us apart]...As we look at some of our peers…they tend to be much more traditional asset classes, more focused on equities and Fixed Income…That’s been a hallmark of Destinations at Brinker Capital for many many years and we do think that is both an area where we add a lot of value but [is also] just a differentiator from our peers.” ~ Andrew Goins

[27:01] - “[When selecting an asset manager] you…want to see, you know, curiosity, creativity [and] the ability to adapt the process to potentially changing market conditions or different environments…being able to be flexible in their approach [is so important]...and can benefit the portfolio performance going forward” ~ Brian Storey

Links

• “Into the Great White Open” by Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers
• “The Gambler” by Kenny Rogers
• Orion Wealth Management

Connect with Us

• Meet Rusty Vanneman, Orion’s Chief Investment Officer
• Check Out All of Orion’s Podcasts
• Power Your Growth with Orion

Disclosure(s) - Custom Indexing offered through Orion Portfolio Solutions, LLC a registered investment advisor.

Orion Portfolio Solutions, LLC, an Orion Company, is a registered investment advisor. Wealth Management services are offered by Orion Portfolio Solutions, LLC d/b/a Brinker Capital Investments a registered investment advisor. Orion Portfolio Solutions, LLC is a wholly owned subsidiary of Orion Advisor Solutions, Inc. (“Orion”)

The Destinations Funds are distributed by Foreside Fund Services, LLC.

Compliance Code: 0969-OPS-4/22/2024

Today Rusty & Robyn are joined by Ricky Schneider, Vice President and Senior Portfolio Manager at Fort Washington Investment Advisors. He is responsible for the commercial mortgage-backed securities portfolios for both Western & Southern Financial Group and third-party institutional clients. Schneider joined the firm in 2019. Prior to Fort Washington, he was with Mesirow Financial in Chicago where he was a Managing Director responsible for trading CMBS and other structured products. He also has previous experience at Loop Capital Markets, Lehman Brothers Asset Management, and Lincoln Capital Management.

Key Takeaways

• [02:42] - Ricky’s professional background and what led him to the investment industry.
• [03:57] - Fort Washington’s tagline is “uncompromised focus.” What is the significance of this for the firm and what really sets them apart in the industry?
• [05:03] - A simple, functional definition of Securitized Income and Structured Products.
• [06:05] - What are RMBS and CMBS and how do they differ? What about ABS?
• [07:35] - What are CLOs?
• [08:50] - How large are each of the above Fixed Income segments in terms of the overall Bond Market?
• [10:01] - What is the value proposition for each of these segments and why would investors choose these structured opportunities over treasuries or corporate bonds?
• [11:07] - What are some of the risks when investing in this part of the Fixed Income market? What are some scenarios in which they might underperform the overall bond market?
• [12:35] - How has the Securitized market changed since the Global Financial Crisis of 2008?
• [15:41] - Does Ricky have a favorite idea in the Securitized Income sector?
• [16:46] - What part of an investor’s bond allocation might this sector replace?
• [17:51] - Rules of thumb for sizing a position of Structured opportunities within a Fixed Income allocation?
• [19:08] - Why does Securitized Income work in an ETF structure and what are the advantages of this?
• [20:38] - What to avoid and what to embrace in commercial real estate and CMBS?
• [24:20] - What is Ricky’s favorite investment idea at the moment?

Quotes

[12:20 ] - “..There is also inherently more risk the further you go down the capital structure in any of these sectors we are talking about” ~ Ricky Schneider

Links

• Ricky Schneider on LinkedIn
• Fort Washington Investment Advisors
• “I And Love And You” by The Avett Brothers

Connect with Us

• Meet Rusty Vanneman, Orion’s Chief Investment Officer
• Check Out All of Orion’s Podcasts
• Power Your Growth with Orion

Disclosure(s) - Orion Portfolio Solutions, LLC, an Orion Company, is a registered investment advisor.

Compliance Code: 0910-OPS-4/15/2024

Today Rusty & Robyn are joined by Matt Brown, Founder and CEO of CAIS. He has spent more than 30 years at the intersection of wealth management, alternative investments, and platform design. In 2009, Matt founded CAIS, the first truly open marketplace for alternative investments, where financial advisors and alternative asset managers can engage and transact directly on a massive scale.

Matt believes entrepreneurship is the major driver of economic and social change. He has spent the better part of two decades working with Endeavor, the world’s leading organization for high impact entrepreneurs. During his tenure, he had the opportunity to mentor dozens of entrepreneurs from locations around the world, including Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East. Matt is honored to have been on Endeavor’s South African and Turkish Boards, which ultimately led to a position on the Global Board of Directors. This experience deepened his belief that helping entrepreneurs build and scale their businesses promotes economic growth and prosperity. It is his personal mission to ensure that anyone with a dream, and the drive to achieve it, has an equal opportunity to make it happen.

Key Takeaways

• [03:11] - Matt’s professional background and what led him to where he is today.
• [04:41] - What really makes CAIS stand out in the Alternative Investments space?
• [06:33] - How does Matt define Alternatives broadly?
• [07:46] - How has investing in Alternatives changed in the past decade and how does Matt expect it might change, moving forward, in the next decade?
• [09:35] - Rules of thumb or heuristics to consider when sizing a position in Alternative Investments.
• [10:25] - What are the most popular Alternative strategies at the moment and what is driving their popularity?
• [12:20] - How else is technology transforming the way people can invest in Alternatives and their opportunities to do so?
• [15:51] - What is it going to take for RIAs to move from the traditional 60/40 portfolio to a 50 (stocks), 30 (bonds) and 20 (alts) portfolio?
• [18:44] - What are some of the biggest opportunities in the Alternative space right now?
• [20:21] - Is Blockchain a viable technology for creating greater liquidity for Alternatives in the future?

Quotes

[08:57] - “The modern portfolio is no longer going to be the 60/40, the modern portfolio is going to be the 50/30 and maybe Alts 20.” ~ Matt Brown

[10:56] - “One of the stronger trends, by far, in the past 24+ months has been this gravitational pull towards private credit...and really what is driving it and why it’s so attractive [are]...of course interest rates and also the lack of access to some in the public credit markets and bank lending…It’s really a huge, robust and deep market and [I think] we will continue to see…strong interest there. ” ~ Matt Brown

Links

• Matt Brown on LinkedIn
• CAIS Group
• “Where the Streets Have No Name” by U2

Connect with Us

• Meet Rusty Vanneman, Orion’s Chief Investment Officer
• Check Out All of Orion’s Podcasts
• Power Your Growth with Orion

Disclosure(s) - Orion Portfolio Solutions, LLC, an Orion Company, is a registered investment advisor.

Compliance Code: 0875-OPS-4/10/2024

Today Rusty & Robyn are joined by Jason Mertz, Director and Fixed Income Investment Strategist at AllianceBernstein. Jason works extensively with the firm’s portfolio management, credit research and trading team to monitor and communicate portfolio positioning and analysis to clients around the US. Prior to joining AB in 2016, Mertz worked at BlackRock as a separately managed account analyst. He holds a BA in finance and international business from Muhlenberg College.

Key Takeaways

• [03:15] - Jason’s professional background, what initially drew him to this industry and his current role at AllianceBernstein.
• [04:30] - What really sets AllianceBernstein apart from other firms?
• [07:26] - What is the current, overall state of the Municipal Market?
• [08:20] - What are some of the high level investment benefits that investors are able to capture in the Muni Market?
• [10:09] - What are the fastest growing segments of the Muni Market currently?
• [11:30] - Jason’s outlook for the Muni Market in 2024.
• [14:07] - How is AB positioning portfolios to take advantage of volatility and potential dislocations and opportunities?
• [17:46] - Why would a client want a customized, separate account over a fund or collection of funds?
• [19:48] - What is AllianceBernstein’s “Abbie Optimizer” and how does it generate alpha?
• [21:34] - How does Jason define trading alpha and speed alpha?
• [24:31] - What other ways does AllianceBernstein manage for taxes?
• [28:25] - What is currently Jason’s favorite investment idea?

Quotes

[12:03] - “[In] 2023 [there was] a lot of volatility, [but] it actually ended up being a really great year for [Municipal Bond]performance; it was just backloaded to November and December.” ~ Jason Mertz

[13:37] - “Not only do we think The Fed is going to cut, [which is] traditionally a great thing for Fixed Income, but more Muni specific - that supply demand dynamic and having a lot more demand be allocated back into the market should be a [stabilizing] and driving force of returns for Muni clients going forward.” ~ Jason Mertz

Links

• Jason Mertz on LinkedIn
• “Once in a Lifetime” by Talking Heads
• AllianceBernstein

Connect with Us

• Meet Rusty Vanneman, Orion’s Chief Investment Officer
• Check Out All of Orion’s Podcasts
• Power Your Growth with Orion

Disclosure(s) - Orion Portfolio Solutions, LLC, an Orion Company, is a registered investment advisor.

Compliance Code: 0796-OPS-4/2/2024

As Chief Investment Officer of Avantis Investors®, Eduardo is responsible for directing the research, design and implementation of our investment strategies, providing oversight of the investment team and the firm's marketing initiatives, and interacting with clients.

Prior to Avantis Investors' establishment in 2019, Eduardo was Co-Chief Executive Officer, Co-Chief Investment Officer and Director at Dimensional Fund Advisors LP ("DFA") until 2017. While at DFA, Eduardo provided oversight across the investment, client service, marketing, and operational functions of DFA and oversaw their day to day operations, directed the engineering and execution of investment portfolios and was involved in the design, development and delivery of research that informed the firm's investment approach as well as its application through portfolio management and trading.

Dr. Repetto earned a Ph.D. degree in Aeronautics from the California Institute of Technology, an MSc degree in Engineering from Brown University, and a Diploma de Honor in Civil Engineering from the Universidad de Buenos Aires. Eduardo is a Trustee of the California Institute of Technology. He is the recipient of the William F. Ballhaus Prize from the California Institute of Technology for outstanding Doctoral Dissertation in Aeronautics and the Ernest E. Sechler Memorial Award for his teaching and research efforts.

Key Takeaways

• [02:52] - Learn more about Eduardo’s diverse professional background and how his engineering background informs his work in finance today.
• [04:48] - What is unique about the Avantis investment philosophy and what does that mean for their advisors and investors?
• [06:48] - Avantis’ Investment Solutions are designed to capture the benefits of indexing while simultaneously focusing on segments of the market that are likely to outperform. How does this work exactly?
• [10:32] - Avantis recently published an article entitled “What is Value?” What are some of the big takeaways and how does their firm define value?
• [12:20] - What are some of the key drivers in the ETF industry’s continued growth?
• [15:50] - What are some of the latest trends and developments shaping the ETF market and which areas of the ETF market are experiencing the highest growth?
• [18:37] - Which strategies in the Avantis product line are showing the best growth and why is that?
• [20:54] - What strategies at Avantis may help advisors build more resilient portfolios?
• [22:16] - What are some best practices for constructing resilient ETF portfolios?
• [26:55] - How does Avantis set themselves apart in their client services and communication?
• [29:00] - What is currently Eduardo’s favorite investment idea?

Quotes

[05:45] - “[Avantis formed]...in order to bring science, data and technology to analyze securities in a very very efficient way with low labor costs…We can provide portfolios that are very well diversified [with a] very low expense ratio and where the securities are analyzed on a daily basis." ~ Eduardo Repetto

[111:23] - “For us, value is companies that are traded with a very very big discount embedded in their price. In otherwards, companies that have a good balance sheet, good cash flows, but the price is low." ~ Eduardo Repetto

Links

• Eduardo Repetto on LinkedIn
• Avantis Investors
• “Can’t Hold Us (feat. Ray Dalton)” by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis

Connect with Us

• Meet Rusty Vanneman, Orion’s Chief Investment Officer
• Check Out All of Orion’s Podcasts
• Power Your Growth with Orion

Disclosure(s) ~ Orion Portfolio Solutions, LLC, an Orion Company, is a registered investment advisor. Wealth Management services are offered by Orion Portfolio Solutions, LLC d/b/a Brinker Capital Investments a registered investment advisor. Orion Portfolio Solutions, LLC is a wholly owned subsidiary of Orion Advisor Solutions, Inc. (“Orion”)

Compliance Code: 0726-OPS-3/25/2024