[Webinar] Embrace the Role of Risk Manager with Hedged Equity Solutions

Wednesday, April 27, 2022 at 3 PM ET 

On the heels of the first Fed rate hike since 2018 and a slowing post-pandemic economic expansion, many clients are finding the mantra "keep calm" hard to follow. These times of uncertainty are a great opportunity for financial advisors to strengthen existing relationships and win new clients. But how do you get prospects off the sidelines, keep clients invested and manage risk without limiting upside potential?

Magnifi by TIFIN is excited to be joined by Swan Global Investments and Advisor Resource Council for a virtual panel presented by WealthManagement.com. Join our upcoming webinar for a discussion about:

• Risk drivers and opportunities in the current market environment
• Fed policy and the impact on balanced portfolios
• Embracing the role of risk manager as a competitive advantage 
• How AI-powered technology is transforming investing

Register at WealthManagement.com

Panelists:

Marc Odo

Marc Odo, CFA®, FRM®, CAIA®, CIPM®, FDP®, CFP® is responsible for helping clients and prospects gain a detailed understanding of Swan’s Defined Risk Strategy, including how it fits into an overall investment strategy. His responsibilities also include producing most of Swan’s thought leadership content.

Prior to joining Swan, Odo was Director of Research for 11 years at Zephyr Associates, a leading provider of investment analysis software. He was responsible for developing next generation risk analytics. Prior to that he was a portfolio manager with Accessor Capital Management, a mutual fund company; and part of the investment analytics team at Pacific Portfolio Consulting, an RIA catering to high net worth individuals and ERISA plans. In both positions, Odo was the resident Zephyr expert. He graduated from the University of Washington in 1996.

Jean Paul Lagarde

Jean Paul founded Advisor Resource Council (ARC) Asset Management in 2015 where he leverages expertise in portfolio construction and options contracts to reshape the risk/reward of equity market exposure. ARC manages equity and fixed income SMA strategies that combine the power of artificial intelligence with the intuition of fundamental analysis in the pursuit of better risk-adjusted returns.

Prior to ARC, Jean Paul served as a senior analyst for an RIA/Hedge Fund, as well as a sell-side analyst and institutional salesperson advising clients on their equity holdings.

Jean Paul holds a bachelor’s degree in economics and a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Dallas.

Matt Barley

Matt Barley, RICP® is Director of Advisor Sales at Magnifi by TIFIN. Prior to joining Magnifi in 2020, Matt spent more than a decade in the financial services industry. He was previously a registered representative and investment advisor at Securities America. Before that, he was an advisory consultant at National Planning Holdings and a wholesaler for Jackson National Life.

Matt holds a bachelor's degree in business administration from University of Colorado Boulder - Leeds School of Business, and is a Retirement Income Certified Professional®.

Advisory services are offered through Magnifi LLC, an SEC Registered Investment Advisor. Being registered as an investment adviser does not imply a certain level of skill or training. The information contained herein should in no way be construed or interpreted as a solicitation to sell or offer to sell advisory services to any residents of any State where notice-filed or otherwise legally permitted. All content is for information purposes only. It is not intended to provide any tax or legal advice or provide the basis for any financial decisions. Nor is it intended to be a projection of current or future performance or indication of future results. Moreover, this material has been derived from sources believed to be reliable but is not guaranteed as to accuracy and completeness and does not purport to be a complete analysis of the materials discussed. Purchases are subject to suitability. This requires a review of an investor’s objective, risk tolerance, and time horizons. Investing always involves risk and possible loss of capital.

Some major industry lawyers think the DOL is poised to issue the newest fiduciary rule in short order. Bradford P. Campbell, partner at Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath says that the new rule will be coming this Spring. The new rule is a long-time coming if you consider that they began working on it when Biden took office well over a year ago. According to Campbell, that makes sense, "That's because the issues are hard. To their credit, they're spending a lot of time meeting with people and discussing the issues. I think DOL is just taking time to do the rule as best they can". According to Fred Reish, another partner at the firm, "I've heard from people that they're actually working very hard on it right now ... So it's not like it's been set aside on the top of a desk until somebody gets confirmed".

FINSUM: This would be a big move by the DOL and is likely to catch advisors unaware as with all the volatility this year, this has not been high on the overall wealth management radar.

Wealth technology is rapidly changing, and the landscape could be very different in the next 30 years. Princeton Economist Burton Malkiel said that a combination of the ‘democratization of investing’ and technology is pushing down fees and cutting costs. Overall he sees wealthfronts and betterments taking center stage, which include products like direct indexing. These practices not only help with tax management and rebalancing but they have lower costs than traditional active management. This sort of investment strategy will only grow as wealth management and financial management converge and FinTech companies change the way industry stalwarts operate.

FINSUM: Direct/custom indexing is one of the most interesting products because of the cheaper hybrid setup that really integrates technology to make management easier. 

Europe has been the dominant authority in shaping ESG guidelines around the globe, however, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is bringing weapons to the forefront of ESG labeling. The bloc is redefining its ESG rules and the no-brainers include rules on gender pay equity, humane supply chains, and banning cigarettes and goods produced from forced labor. While there is hot debate on weapons German defense lobby group BDSV is pushing hard for the case as to why weapons are part of ESG. They are making the case that a strong defense is critical to the governance component of ESG. There is a willingness to hear these arguments by ESG labelers and it is being put under fair consideration.

FINSUM: Euro area defense companies have had a huge boost in the last couple of weeks and securing ESG financing could be pivotal to their future.

Wells Fargo has employed a number of strategies in both advisor recruiting and retention but is still losing teams. Recently Stratos Wealth Holdings added Jason Howerd, Shane Kunz, and Chad Horne who oversaw $1billion at Wells before their move. It was the additional resources and financial software that were key drivers in their decision-making process. LPL’s affiliate Gladstone Wealth Partners also added nearly a half dozen advisors from Wells, with well over $400 million in AUM. Overall Gladstone has seen strong growth already in 2022 adding 20 advisors in the first two months.

FINSUM: It appears technology and tools are a growing part of the decisions advisors are considering when transitioning between financial firms.