Displaying items by tag: model portfolios

Capital Group, the parent company of American Funds, recently launched 12 active-passive model portfolios featuring Capital Group as the strategist. The models will be made up of American Funds' actively managed mutual funds and passively-managed ETFs from Vanguard, Schwab, and BlackRock. As the strategist, Capital Group will select the passive ETFs in each model and manage the allocations. The models are the latest in a series of active-passive model portfolios from Capital Group that include growth, growth and income, preservation and income, and retirement income strategies. They are designed to help advisors balance the demands of investment management with the need to scale their businesses and deepen client relationships. Capital Group's model portfolio business is an area of strategic focus for the firm. Its model portfolio business has more than tripled in assets under management since 2018. The new models bring the total number of model portfolios available nationally to 31. The new models comprise nine core models and three retirement-income-focused models. They include:

• Capital Group Active-Passive Global Growth Model
• Capital Group Active-Passive Growth Model
• Capital Group Active-Passive Moderate Growth Model
• Capital Group Active-Passive Growth and Income Model
• Capital Group Active-Passive Moderate Growth and Income Model
• Capital Group Active-Passive Conservative Growth and Income Model
• Capital Group Active-Passive Conservative Income and Growth Model
• Capital Group Active-Passive Conservative Income Model
• Capital Group Active-Passive Preservation Model
• Capital Group Active-Passive Retirement Income Model - Enhanced
• Capital Group Active-Passive Retirement Income Model - Moderate
• Capital Group Active-Passive Retirement Income Model - Conservative

Finsum:Capital Group added to its series of active-passive models with the launch of 12 new model portfolios, including nine core models and three retirement-income-focused models.

While markets in 2022 were crushing for many, some portfolio managers at Capital Group are seeing brighter days ahead this year, but are still playing it safe. At a webinar revealing the firm’s asset allocations for this year, managers stated that they are reacting to a changing environment and that the market’s direction will depend on the movements of the Federal Reserve. John Queen, fixed-income portfolio manager said, “The key is inflation, and the path inflation takes from here is really going to determine what the macro environment looks like, what happens with interest rates here in the U.S., and then how aggressively the Fed is willing to combat that inflation if it stays somewhat elevated.” While the adjustments that the firm is making to its model portfolios are small, they are tilting away from growth and moving toward income, according to the panel. For instance, in its growth and income model portfolio, Capital Group moved 5% of its allocation out of a balanced fund and into a diversified fixed-income fund. Michelle Black, another solutions portfolio manager at the firm stated, “For a 20-year horizon, the starting point matters, and starting after a down year means positive outcomes for long-term investors. It’s probably not surprising to hear we have higher expected returns across the board versus one year ago, stemming really from more attractive valuations, especially in fixed income.”

Finsum:Capital Group portfolio managers are tilting away from growth and moving towards income in their model portfolios due to attractive valuations in fixed income.

Frontier Asset Management and 55ip are combining their areas of expertise to offer financial advisors a unique set of model portfolios that will minimize risk and seek ideal tax management solutions. The two firms inked a deal this month that will apply 55ip’s tax management solutions to Frontier’s risk-averse ETF strategies so advisors can utilize both techniques within model portfolios. While Frontier does not have any proprietary ETFs, it publishes investment strategies that are used by advisors. The firm establishes a downside risk target for each strategy representing the expected one-year loss potential over 12 months. Their strategies are built around the idea of not losing more than the downside risk target 95% of the time. 55ip, on the other hand, offers tax management for an array of products such as model portfolios, ETFs, direct indexing, and active SMAs. It achieves this through proprietary algorithms, which keep track of the different portfolios the firm oversees along with every tax position and tax law related to those portfolios. Rob Miller, CEO of Frontier had this to say about the deal, “Being able to utilize 55ip’s tax overlay service within our risk-managed services gives a really unique product in the investment advisor space. We’re hoping that investment advisors will get the best of both worlds with tax and risk management for their clients.”

Finsum:Frontier Asset Management, which provides risk-management strategies, and 55ip, which offers tax management solutions are combining their expertise to provide advisors with a unique set of model portfolios.

Principal Asset Management recently announced that it is enhancing its fintech-enabled model portfolios by incorporating individual bonds as an option for the portfolios. The company collaborated with YieldX and Smartleaf Asset Management to offer the only full portfolio direct indexing solution, enabling advisors to expand the capabilities of direct indexing beyond equities to individual bonds. Principal launched fintech-enabled model portfolios last year in collaboration with Smartleaf to make it easy to construct and manage custom portfolios. As part of the announcement, Jill Brown, Principal's managing director of U.S. Wealth Platform, stated, “We are the first asset manager to work with YieldX to incorporate individual bonds into model portfolios, making the combinations of mutual funds, ETFs, individual equities, and now individual bonds available through our 37 model portfolios even more powerful.” Adam Green, CEO of YieldX added “Through the addition of capabilities from YieldX, advisors will now have the option to include individual fixed-income securities.”

Finsum:Principal collaborated with YieldX and Smartleaf to offer individual bonds as part of its direct indexing model portfolios.

Much has been talked about regarding the failure of the 60/40 portfolio last year, but Vanguard analysts recently suggested that investors shouldn’t abandon a balanced portfolio strategy. Roger Aliaga-Diaz, portfolio construction head for Vanguard, and his team said in a recent note that “A balanced portfolio still offers the best chance of success.” Aliaga-Diaz noted that while the negative correlation between stocks and bonds broke down last year, “longer term, however, the data support balanced portfolios.” The firm noted that “The policy response to higher and more persistent inflation and the subsequent repricing of risk in global capital markets has led to a dramatic shift in our time-varying asset allocation (TVAA) outlook.” The TVAA looks to harvest the risk premiums for which the Vanguard thinks there is modest return predictability. Based on the firm’s current outlook, Vanguard’s optimal TVAA portfolio “calls for a 50/50 stock and bond split, and favors bonds and emerging markets.” Specifically, Vanguard’s TVAA allocation suggests 30% U.S. stocks, 20% international (divided equally between developed and emerging markets), 22% international bonds, and 27% U.S. fixed income (mostly in U.S. intermediate credit bonds). The firm noted that the interest rate tightening cycle in 2022 raised its expected bond return forecasts by more than the equity sell-off raised expected equity returns.

Finsum:While the 60/40 portfolio failed last year, Vanguard believes a balanced portfolio still offers the best chance of long-term success and recommends a 50/50 stock and bond split.