Who’s Slacking ? Who’s adapting ? | 20 April 2020

Slack or Microsoft Teams? As we all adapted to remote work, I’d love to talk to more investors and advisors who started using Slack, Microsoft Teams or some other collaboration tool.  Our team love slack for the quick back/forth and fast analysis, so I’ve adapted our API to serve Portformer Alternatives right in Slack.  If you or your team would like to be part of the Beta Release of Portformer on Slack, email me to be added to the list.

If they’re high conviction for me,they’re high conviction for others…”

This quote from a prominent wealth manager rings true to all of the practices who recognize that the table stakes of asset allocation and traditional research are higher to execute their fund selection and reallocate more time to financial planning. The way you support and communicate with a client is changing and securing decisions more challenging. 

We hear it from the advisor community who are finding opportunities to consolidate existing clients and review prospective client portfolios. The low hanging fruit which is moving clients to the lowest expense ratio is being gobbled up; differentiation is at a premium. There is greater attention to asset location, spending policy and behavioral coaching/implementation. 

The noise is significant so advisors are filtering for a revised outlook, better signals and higher client engagement as behavior and preferences change – the horizon is unrecognizable. With social distancing, there will be an even greater focus on savings/accumulation attributed through income and tax planning so these disciplines of Advisor Alpha* are critical and will expand. 

We’re not only in a period of assessing the current and emerging regime –  we’re resetting  “normal” for our society let alone the capital markets. This is the time to reassess your process, your strategies, your propensity for certain funds — we challenge you to test your work !   *

Quantifying Advisor’s Alpha – https://advisors.vanguard.com/insights/article/IWE_ResPuttingAValueOnValue

We plan to add new resources each week that we have reviewed which highlight the environmental and economic impact to the U.S. and global systems.

The Metric We Need to Manage COVID-19 – Scientific discussion which review the reproduction factor impact on managing COVID-19 with state level data. A great website from the founder of Instagram and the person who personally taught me to program in high school !
Change in Consumer Spending Since Virus Outbreak – Data on hows the patterns of consumer spending have changed since the outbreak.
No Senator, Science Can’t Do Away with Models – Commentary to recent critique from a US Senator on the shortfalls of modeling and why they’re imperative to research and containment efforts.
Our World in Data – 2020 Pandemic – Dynamic slide deck that is updated daily on path and containment of outbreak with regional/country-level info from University of Oxford.
A public data lake for analysis of COVID-19 data – Updated database for analysis on all aspects of COVID-19 for public access. Our community is constantly sharing ideas for alternative information to enhance their research process and client engagement so we always welcome your suggestions. 

Posts

Here are the posts most read on Portformer.com:

Portformer Performance During Market Correction
Week in Review – 4/12/2020 – Looking ahead….but not too far
Tactical Alert – Fed will Buy Bond ETFs
Tactical Alert – Adjusting to ETF-ETN Fund Closures

Question of the Week

How have you responded to your team’s needs for connection and overcoming isolation as they are immersed in constant problem-solving?

Please share with us via our chatbox at Portformer or reply to this email and the information will remain confidential. 

What we’re Reading:

Here is a snapshot of the best articles compiled and read by our team:

Dividend Stocks: Strong Yields– Solid infographic on the current best yielding stocks based on specific investment criteria.
Feds Didn’t Actually Have to Buy Anything to Rescue Bond ETF – Bloomberg article on Fed support fro Bond ETFs and the market stability created.
Do Bear Markets Favor Active or Passive Investing  – Brief commentary from the Common Fund on what approach is favorable now and setting the table for recovery.
McKinsey: An Instant Economic Crisis – How Deep and How Long– Excellent discussion from the consulting firm on the impact and sudden aspect of the crisis and the recovery path.
The Playbook to Win New Clients Coming out of a Crisis – Commentary from a RIA and research analysts on importance of engaging closely with clients during this period. 
Howard Marks Letter – Knowledge of the Future– Excellent client letter produced from renown money manager assessing the current market impact of COVID and the economy reopening.
CFA: The Novelty of the Coronavirus – What it Means for Market – Discussion from CFA on historical significance of the crisis and the recovery looks promising.
MSCI: Liquidity Risk Report through April 10, 2020 – Weekly liquidity risk report compiled that shows behavior of indicators through COVID-19.
Vanguard Soft Closes Treasury Money Fund As Investors Dash to Cash – Announcement of major fund soft closing fro Treasury Fund which has been a trend for major firms.

If you have any difficulty accessing these articles and papers, please reach us through our website or directly at john.dibenedetto@portformer.com..

Our advisor community has been reaching out to bring a different perspective to their study groups. We’re happy to share specific analysis or plug into your sessions via Zoom. Forward this email to them and you can find us on social media at Twitter @Portformer and LinkedIn at Portformer. 

Always be safe, 

John DiBenedetto and the Portformer™ Team