Displaying items by tag: personalization

The defined contribution investment-only (DCIO) industry continues to grow, reaching record asset levels despite increasing pressure on fees and revenue models. Target-date funds (TDFs) remain a dominant force, with more plan sponsors considering active management strategies to enhance participant outcomes. 

At the same time, large passive fund managers are introducing competitively priced active funds, creating new market dynamics. A key decision for advisors is knowing when to pull the trigger on a switch to active plans, and a riskier economic environment can be the right opportunity. 

Meanwhile, personalization is becoming a key focus, though legal challenges surrounding managed accounts may slow adoption. Lastly, collective investment trusts (CITs) are gaining ground on mutual funds, with potential legislation poised to expand their availability in 403(b) plans.

Finsum: DCIO is an ongoing process and shouldn’t be treated like a static one-time decision, consider traditional portfolio strategy and customization as opportunities to shift DC investments. 

According to Cerulli, wealth management firms vying for high-net-worth clients should increase their focus on personalization and private markets. With traditional wealth management, it’s increasingly challenging for advisors to differentiate their services. Additionally, it doesn’t fully meet the needs of clients, especially given unprecedented amounts of uncertainty in terms of the economy, monetary policy, and geopolitics.

A consequence of this uncertainty is unpredictability in terms of return and risk in terms of major asset classes, highlighting the need for effective asset allocation. The report also showed that direct indexing is utilized by 55% of advisors who are looking to provide active management and customization to clients. 

The firm also projects growth for separately managed accounts given high net worth investors’ growing demand for customization and private market investments. As a result, these trends underscore the need for effective account aggregation and performance reporting. 

This enables the alignment of solutions across different areas such as financial planning, investing strategy, banking, estate planning, etc. Equally important, this type of comprehensive reporting and consolidation eases the transition to having higher allocations to alternative investments. 

Finsum: Cerulli conducted a survey of advisors and high-net-worth clients. The findings highlight the importance of providing access to private markets and personalized services.

A portfolio’s outcome is driven by a variety of factors on factors like commissions, time horizon, and asset classes, with strategy being a key determinant shaped by each manager’s risk tolerance. While a more risk averse 60/40 strategy, allocating 60% to equities and 40% to fixed income, balances growth and stability, there are other ways to achieve those outcomes in a simplified manor. 

Structured notes, which combine various asset classes into one security, offer a way to achieve this allocation without multiple subscriptions, all while potentially reducing fees. But additionally structured notes offer flexibility, and actively managed notes can adjust based on market conditions, providing regular NAV updates. 

However, structured notes carry risks such as limited liquidity, market risk, and default risk, which can impact their performance and investor returns. Mitigating these risks can provide a competitive advantage in the market.

Finsum: The world of structured notes is vast, but they do offer the ability to simplify portions of an investment strategy and manage moving parts easier. 

Unified managed accounts (UMAs) are professionally managed accounts that allow for the use of multiple investment strategies. This makes it a more comprehensive approach than a separately managed account (SMA) which is typically used for a single, targeted strategy. 

As of the end of last year, UMAs accounted for 26% of assets in managed accounts. Growth in UMAs is due to multiple factors; however, two recent factors are improved pricing and an increase in the number of investment options. 

With UMAs, different strategies can be used to construct a customized client portfolio that leverages the best strategies across different asset classes and investment managers. This allows advisors to optimize portfolios by blending various strategies and selecting managers with the proper expertise. 

This means that an advisor could use different managers for different asset classes, such as domestic equities, foreign stocks, and fixed income. UMAs can also allow for more granularity, such as having one manager for a core equity position and another for dividend stocks. 

UMAs also provide a comprehensive view of a client's finances, which means that rebalancing strategies are more effective, and there is more potential for personalization. This includes the ability to add custom models to a portfolio along with third-party ones. 

Finsum: Unified managed accounts are experiencing rapid growth and provide advisors with a more holistic and comprehensive view of a client's finances. 

A major trend in wealth management is personalization. Due to new technology, financial advisors are now able to offer customized products and solutions without sacrificing scalability. It can help clients reach their financial goals while also creating a stronger relationship between advisors and clients.  

A survey conducted of high net worth investors by PwC showed that 66% are interested in more personalization, while 46% are looking to change or add new advisors within the next couple of years. For advisors, offering personalized solutions will be increasingly important in terms of recruiting and retaining clients.   

Personalization is also impacting model portfolios. Until recently, most model portfolios were built around the traditional portfolio, combining stocks and bonds, which limited customization. Now, there are more options to customize model portfolios, including factors, themes, and values. 

According to research from MSCI, wealth managers can allocate to these strategies without worrying that they would have an adverse impact on a portfolio in terms of returns or diversification. Further, these model portfolios are customized but still retain their core benefits. For advisors, this means spending less time on investment management and more time on client service, financial planning, and growing the business. 

Finsum: Personalization is a major trend in wealth management. Now, model portfolios can be customized, which brings a variety of benefits for advisors and clients without having an adverse impact on returns or diversification.