Wealth Manager

September 2007, Wealth Manager magazine

Are bull markets in almost everything marginalizing asset allocation?

By James Picerno

Asset allocation is a cornerstone of strategic
portfolio design, but is its value diminished if everything is running
higher?

September 2007, Wealth Manager magazine

Can market momentum signals enhance asset allocation strategies

By James Picerno

The world is brimming with betas. The U.S.-listed
catalog of index funds now totals more than 800, available in
three basic design wrappers: mutual funds, ETFs and the latest
twist known as ETNs (exchange-traded notes), according to
Morningstar Principia. More are arriving all the time, offering
an ever broader list of betas in both conventional and, increasingly,
alternative forms. But no matter how many betas the
financial industry securitizes for general consumption, the old
challenge of mixing and managing them in pursuit of strategic
goals isn’t getting any easier. If anything, portfolio design is becoming
tougher in a world flooded with choice. More betas can
be better, of course, but with rapidly expanding possibilities for
customizing comes a higher risk of mediocrity, or worse.

October 2007, Wealth Manager magazine

Is there a better way to build a commodities index? A new ETN looks for an answer.

By James Picerno

Strategic-minded investors have discovered
(some might say rediscovered) commodities as an asset class in
the 21st century. But the recent surge of interest in raw materials
doesn’t make storing barrels of oil and bushels of corn any easier.
Buying and selling physical commodities is difficult and expensive,
which is why financial investors tap commodities by
proxy. Futures contracts simplify the headache of trading the
real thing. But there’s no free lunch: The derivatives introduce
another layer of risk separate from the one associated with commodities
proper.