Displaying items by tag: allocation

(New York)

Firstly, some good news for advisors, Morningstar has announced it is doubling its analyst coverage of models next year from a current 250. Within that coverage, advisors can also find the top 15 models according to Morningstar. Here are those ranked 15-11. Number 15: T. Rowe Price Active, number 14: Dimensional Tax-Sensitive, number 13: Dimensional Core Wealth, number 12: Fidelity Target Allocation Index-Focused, number 11: BlackRock Target Allocation Tax-Aware ETF.

FINSUM: A nice diverse group of models with a lot of different focus areas. Great start for further research.

(New York)

Advisors likely know Global X as a leader in thematic investing—heck they practically invented the space! Well the know-how and expertise you know and love from their ETFs is available as part of a suite of model portfolios at Orion. In partnership with Orion Portfolio Solutions, Global has launched both an Equity Thematic Disruptors ETF Model Portfolio and five Core Series Models tailored to specific risk appetites. In Global X’s own words, the Equity Thematic Disruptors ETF Model Portfolio “Targets structural and long-term trends that transcend traditional sector investing and provides investors with access to potential growth opportunities”.

FINSUM: Exciting to see Global X bringing its edge to the model world. The Disruptors model seems like a one-stop shop to access cross-sector innovation.

(New York)

Model portfolios are getting ever more popular for advisors. Not only do they help outsource some portfolio management, but there is such a wide variety of them that they can be tailored to many different plans. In some cases, there are almost too many! One area where they make a lot of sense is in tax minimization strategies. Biden and the Democrats look like to hike taxes considerably, and that fact coupled with ultra-low yields and highly variant financial situations in muni bonds, means there is a lot to gain from models in this area.

FINSUM: COVID affected municipalities in very different ways, and spreads to Treasuries are historically low, so there is a of risk. Nuveen is seen as a leader in the munis space, so a good place to start the search.

(New York)

Model portfolios provided by third parties have become increasingly popular for advisors, but separating the best from the rest is no easy feat. To help out advisors, Morningstar now has rankings and guides (see them here). Here are five of the top picks from Morningstar: BlackRock Target Allocation ETF, Vanguard CORE, American Funds Growth & Income, American Funds Tax Aware Growth & Income, BlackRock Multi-Asset Income. Other interesting options include the State Street Strategic Asset Allocation and T.Rowe Price Active.

FINSUM: The world of model portfolios has been proliferating enough that scoring and guidance is very useful (just think how hard ETF selection would be without screeners!).

(Washington)

This is one of the most uncertain times in recent history, and not just because of political divisiveness and the pandemic, but because many of the new administration’s policies are likely to be very different than the Trump administration’s. That extends to taxes, where there is a high degree of anxiety about forthcoming changes, most of which high earners expect to be punitive. Because there is a wide range of possible outcomes, advisors need to work hard to plan for what different scenarios might look like. Accordingly, now is the right time to beef up on tax planning staff, or at the least review your tax planning playbook and keep a close eye on the news.

FINSUM: In a year, when new tax policies are known, you want to be able to tell clients “don’t worry” we have been planning for this and you will be fine. The work to get there needs to start now.