Displaying items by tag: hedge

The growing focus on private equity among family offices is driven by their longer-term outlook and the flexibility of deal-by-deal investing, offering higher potential returns and greater control. This approach is increasingly appealing amid global economic instability, high interest rates, and lingering pandemic effects, as traditional investments often underperform in such conditions. 

Private equity can cushion portfolios against market volatility, consistently outperforming listed equities over the past two decades. Family offices pursuing a deal-by-deal strategy face challenges like high minimum investment requirements and the need for specialized expertise. 

Embracing alternative investments enables family offices to seek superior returns, greater diversification, and enhanced risk management while contributing to innovation and economic dynamism.

Finsum: If the hedge is the clear concern, maybe investors should lean into alternatives, but look at historical correlations. 

Investors concerned about exchange-traded funds (ETFs) with options overlays limiting returns should consider the benefits these strategies offer. According to Tony Rochte, Morgan Stanley’s global head of ETFs, options serve as a hedge against significant losses, offering downside protection even if upside gains are capped. 

This approach encourages investors to re-enter the broad-based equity market, reducing their exposure to fixed-income products. Alison Doyle, Nasdaq’s head of ETP listings, highlighted the growing popularity of active ETFs, with over 75% of all ETF launches in 2023 being active. 

Among these, a significant portion included options-embedded strategies, providing additional risk management tools. This trend shows a shift from traditional fixed-income investments to risk assets.

Finsum: With stocks and bonds becoming more correlated, investors should consider outside strategies like overlays to hedge. 

In the past two years, retirement investors have funneled over $20 billion into US exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that limit both gains and losses, challenging traditional insurance products. These "buffered" ETFs capitalize on derivatives to cushion the effects of extreme market swings and have grown popular since their 2018 debut, especially after the market turbulence of 2020 and 2022.

The draw of buffered ETFs lies in their downside protection, which has become increasingly attractive to investors seeking to safeguard their retirement savings. Financial advisers in the US have embraced these ETFs, driving $10 billion in net inflows in both 2022 and 2023, while taking market share from the $3.3 trillion annuities market and costly structured notes.

This has grown not only the size but the scope of the market with 200+ defined outcome ETFs in the US, totally a staggering $37bn. In turn new competitors like BlackRock and AllianceBernstein are joining the competition to try and capitalize on the gains from First Trust and Allianz. 

Finsum: The uniqueness of buffer ETFs really is in how they integrate derivatives to drive performance and outcomes and can present nearly all in one solutions. 

Financial advisors frequently turn to bonds when managing retirement investment risk, as they are traditionally viewed as a reliable hedge against stock market fluctuations. However, recent research suggests caution, with a Bloomberg report revealing that the bond market has experienced significant volatility in recent years, and the traditional hedging with fixed income might be inadequate. 

To circumvent losses from bond volatility, fixed index annuities (FIAs) can serve as an effective alternative. FIAs generally carry lower risks compared to bonds but they can do so at a reduced price with a much higher potential upside. Unlike bonds, FIAs can guarantee a lifetime income, providing a unique form of security for retirement planning.

Interest earned from FIAs is based on an external market index, such as the S&P 500, allowing investors to benefit from market gains without the risk of market volatility. This makes FIAs an appealing option for achieving a balanced and secure retirement portfolio.

Finsum: This really comes down to investor preferences, but stock-bond correlation is increasing which should give investors reasons to consider annuities. 

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