With approximately 150 new fund and ETF launches in 2018, ESG/SRI investing has become a magnet for flows to asset managers. But what are the key motivators driving that trend among financial advisors? And, once an advisor has committed to an ESG/SRI approach, how do they go about selecting a mutual fund or ETF product?

This webinar will review the implications of a large-scale research study recently completed by Advisor Perspectives. Participants will learn:

• What drives advisors to embrace an ESG/SRI approach? – Our research identified the key factors that hold advisors back from committing assets to ESG/SRI products, as well as the “hot-button” issues that are motivating asset allocation decisions.
• How do advisors select an ESG/SRI fund or ETF? – Advisors weigh many metrics when selecting products – performance history, manager tenure, volatility, etc. Our research revealed which are the most and least important when it comes to selecting ESG/SRI products.
• How can asset managers better serve advisors? – Each quarter, we survey our advisor audience to determine the key issues that they face in their practice and those that they hear about most often from clients. Our research also shows how advisors prefer to learn about new investment products.

Additionally, Leigh Jedeikin, CFP and Vice President, and Daniel Ong, CFA, Senior Portfolio Manager and Vice President, will present Dimensional’s approach to incorporating ESG considerations in its strategies, including identifying the specific needs of ESG investors, the screening and weighting criteria used in managing the funds, and the metrics used to evaluate the impact on reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Since its inception in 1999, the Fairpointe Mid-Cap Strategy has returned 11.92% annually net of fees, outperforming the S&P 500 by 563 basis points. In this interview, the fund’s managers discuss its remarkable success.

A large-scale survey of financial advisors has contradicted many of the long-held beliefs about ESG/SRI investing.

A large-scale survey of financial advisors has contradicted many of the long-held beliefs about ESG/SRI investing. The survey was conducted by Advisor Perspectives, a leading publisher of investment content for the financial services industry, as part of its research service.

Brandon Rakszawski is Senior ETF Product Manager at VanEck. In this interview, he discusses the newly introduced VanEck Vectors Morningstar Durable Dividend ETF (DURA).

Martin Kremenstein is senior managing director and head of retirement products and ETFs at Nuveen, a TIAA company. In this interview, he discusses the latest trends and innovations in ESG/SRI investing.

Peter Zymali, vice president and senior portfolio manager on the Global Equity Team, is responsible for the implementation of several quantitative equity strategies specializing in Quality ESG, Tax Advantaged Equity, and Quality Dividend Focus. He currently co-manages the Northern U.S. Quality ESG Fund (NUESX). In this interview, he discusses the latest trends is ESG investing and what to expect from the next generation of products.

Jeremy Siegel is the Russell E. Palmer Professor of Finance at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. In this interview, he provides is forecast for stock and bond market performance and identifies the asset classes that are most attractively valued.

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Lisa Salvi is a member of the Advisor Services leadership team and is responsible for Schwab’s Business Consulting and Education offer. In this interview, she discusses her research that identified the best practices of the fastest growing financial advisory firms.

Neil J. Hennessy is portfolio manager and chief investment officer at Hennessy Funds, where he personally manages or co-manages six of the firm’s funds. In this interview, he discusses his outlook for the market and the economy, and why he thinks Japanese and energy stocks are exceptionally attractive.

Jillian DelSignore is head of ETF distribution for J.P. Morgan. In this interview, she discusses the overarching needs of financial advisors with respect to ETFs.

Corporate bonds offer incredibly poor prospects under any scenario, according to Jeffrey Gundlach. If rates rise, prices will drop quickly because their durations are between 7 and 10 years. Falling rates are no better, he said, because they would be accompanied by a bear market in stocks with effects that would extend to corporate bonds.

Kim Laughton is president of Schwab Charitable, a non-profit, donor-advised fund provider established with the support of Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. to make charitable giving simpler and more tax-efficient for clients. In this interview, she discusses how advisors and their clients can take advantages of the changes in the new tax law.

A central focus of the Trump administration has been to reduce the U.S. trade deficit and to force our trading partners – mostly China – to eliminate what he claims to be unfair trade practices. Yet former Fed Chair Janet Yellen doesn’t understand what Trump is doing.

The conventional wisdom promoted by the developers of social networks was that they would provide immense benefits to society through faster and broader connectivity. That view was shattered by Niall Ferguson, who called services like Facebook and Twitter “crazy ideas gone viral, with deeply negative implications.”

Brian Smedley is Senior Managing Director and Head of Macroeconomic and Investment Research at Guggenheim Partners. In this interview, he discusses his outlook for the economy and the capital markets, and how the economy is likely to run into a recession in the first half of 2020.

At Schwab IMPACT, stop by the Guggenheim booth (620), to meet Brian Smedley, and see him present Forecasting the Next Recession on Tuesday 10/30, at 11:15 AM ET, Showcase Stage C.

Anthony Eames is a vice president of Eaton Vance Management and director of responsible investment strategy. In this interview, he discusses the emerging trends in ESG/SRI products and how advisors can better serve their clients with responsible investing solutions.

Stop by to see us at booth 300 in the exhibit hall, where you’ll have a chance to talk with our product representatives.

Jeremy DeGroot, CFA, is a principal and the chief investment officer of Litman Gregory, a boutique wealth management firm based in the San Francisco Bay Area. In this interview, he discusses the Litman Gregory Masters High Income Alternatives Fund, which seeks to generate a high level of current income from diverse sources, consistent with the goal of capital preservation over time. It was launched on September 28, 2018.

Stop by booth #610 at Schwab IMPACT® to learn more about the Litman Gregory Masters High Income Alternatives Fund (MAHIX).

Mike Van Wyk is a senior market research manager at American Funds, part of Capital Group. His research has revealed several secrets that high-net worth investors keep from their advisors, and what advisors can do to reveal them.

Visit us in the exhibit hall at booth 463 to learn about our latest research on high net worth clients and discover ways to serve them better. American Funds Distributors, Inc.

Di Zhou and Jim Gassman are co-managers of the Thornburg Better World International Fund (TBWIX), a global ESG fund. Since its inception on 9/30/15, through 9/30/18, the fund has earned an annualized rate of return of 10.96%, outperforming its benchmark, the MSCI ACWI Ex-US USD index, by 117 basis points. As of 9/30/18, the fund has been rated five stars by Morningstar.

Stop by to see us at booth #388 (near the Bear & Bull Pub) in the exhibit hall, where you’ll have a chance to talk with our product representatives and pick up our latest features in the Wall Street Transcript and Value Investor Insight.

Richard Davis is the portfolio manager of the Maycrest Balanced Fund Strategy. Since its in inception on January 1, 2007 to August 31, 2018, the Maycrest Balanced Fund Strategy had an annualized return of 11.46% versus 8.36% for its benchmark, the S&P 500 Total Return Index, for an outperformance of 310 basis points. In this interview, Richard discusses his strategy and market outlook.

Advisors are routinely entrusted with safeguarding their clients’ financial health. But new research shows there is much more at stake. Automobile accident fatalities and suicide rates are closely correlated with stock market declines.

I had the bittersweet privilege of attending Harold Evensky’s final presentation on investing. Evensky, who is by far the most decorated member of the advisory industry, is retiring and plans no further public talks.

Advisors can help people be the “heroes of their own lives” if we enrich their storytelling abilities, according to Ed Saxon.

Stimulative measures drive growth, and the U.S. economy and stock market have benefited from quantitative easing, lower rates, less regulation and tax cuts. But Jeffrey Gundlach admonished investors that too much stimulus can backfire.

One of the overriding questions from the 2016 presidential campaign is whether the onslaught of “fake news” altered the outcome of the election. That question is unanswerable, but we now know whether the financial equivalent of fake news altered stock prices.

John Barr manages the Needham Aggressive Growth Fund (NEAGX), which had an annualized return of 10.51% over the prior 15 years, versus 9.42% for the S&P 500, for an outperformance of 109 basis points. In this interview, he discusses the outlook for his fund.

Adam S. Abelson is the chief investment officer for the Stralem Funds. Since its inception on January 18, 2000, as of May 31, 2018, the Stralem Equity Fund (STEFX) had an annualized return of 5.78%, versus 5.51 % for its benchmark, the S&P 500 total-return index, for an outperformance of 27 basis points.

C. Thomas Howard, PhD, is the CEO and chief investment officer at AthenaInvest, Inc., a Colorado-based investment manager. He is the co-manager of the Athena Global Tactical ETFs, a separately managed account. As of June 30, 2018, since its inception in September 2010, it has had an annualized return of 19.0%, outperforming its benchmark, the MSCI All Country World Index (ACWI) by 900 basis points. It is rated five-stars by Morningstar.

Danton G. Goei joined Davis Advisors in 1998. He is a portfolio manager for the Davis Large Cap, Global, and International Portfolios and a member of the research team for other portfolios. In this interview, he discusses those funds and why Davis maintains a “wall of mistakes” that immortalizes its investment blunders.

Californians live in fear of a devastating earthquake. But homeowners are far more likely to suffer a loss from a fire or even a sewer backup. The proper insurance protects against those losses. But, according to Brian Trouette, many homeowners lack sufficient coverage.

The federal deficit and the cost to service that debt are rising at the same time. This historical anomaly is putting the U.S. on a “suicide mission,” according to Jeffrey Gundlach.

Bob Browne is an executive vice president and chief investment officer for Northern Trust. He is a member of Northern Trust's operating group and management group. He is also co-portfolio manager of the Northern Global Tactical Asset Allocation Fund (BBALX), a top-performing, multi-asset fund.

Donald Trump’s attacks on the truth and the rule of law will damage the norms upon which our country was founded, according to James Comey, the former FBI director.

David Littleton is a founding principal of the Vestmark Manager Marketplace. I spoke with him about how this solution drives value for advisors and asset managers.

To the dismay of some and the delight of others, Donald Trump could win reelection in 2020, according to Greg Valliere. Trump, he said, has no strong primary challengers among Republicans, nor are there any Democrats likely to defeat him in the general election.

Judd Peters is a portfolio manager of the Hotchkis & Wiley Small Cap Diversified Value Fund (HWVIX). Since its inception, the fund’s annualized return has been 9.45%, resulting in a 254 basis point outperformance versus Russell 2000 Value Index. The fund is rated five stars by Morningstar. I interviewed Judd last week.

Criticism of technical analysis ranges from bemused skepticism to claims of harebrained alchemy. Few investors as well-respected as Jeffrey Gundlach admit to using it. But yesterday, he explained why he relies on technical analysis under certain conditions.

Carl Kaufman is the co-president, co-chief executive officer and managing director, fixed income at Osterweis Capital Management. He is the lead portfolio manager for the Strategic Income Fund. That fund has had an annualized return of 6.18% since its inception on 8/30/02. Its performance exceeded the AGG by 278 basis points. I interviewed Carl last week.

First Eagle’s Global Fund (SGENX) is its flagship fund, with over $55 billion in assets. As of April 30, 2018, since inception (1/1/79), the Fund has returned 13.15% annually, versus 9.67% for the MSCI World Index. Over the last 15 years, it has been in the top 2% of its peer group. I spoke with its managers, Matthew B. McLennan and Kimball Brooker, Jr., on May 1.

Fear that the multi-decade bull market in bonds will end has centered on the benchmark 10-year Treasury yield breaching 3%. But Jeffrey Gundlach said that is the wrong focus.

Christopher Mack is a co-manager of the Harding Loevner Global Equity Fund (HLMGX). Over the 15-year period ending 4/20/18, its annual return has been 10.46%, outperforming its benchmark by 160 basis points. Over that 15-year period, it ranks in the 15th percentile of its Morningstar peer group. I interviewed Chris last week.

Terri Spath is chief investment officer at Sierra Investment Management. She is responsible for market and economic analysis, portfolio allocation, investment strategy and building client solutions. In this interview, she explains how tactical management differs from market timing, and why it will excel in the current environment.

On inflation and Fed policy, Jeffrey Gundlach disagreed with comments made by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Fed Chairman Jerome Powell. But Gundlach’s views were in line with the consensus on those key issues – inflation will not spike dramatically higher and the Fed will continue with its planned rate hikes.

David Lau is the founder and CEO of DPL Financial Partners, a firm focused on the distribution of commission-free insurance products geared toward the RIA and fee-based advisor channel. In this interview, he discusses his suite of products and related services.

Gregg S. Fisher founded Gerstein Fisher in 1993 based on a vision of offering a quantitative investment management approach grounded in sound economic theory and more efficiently implemented through technology. In this interview, he discusses the virtues of multi-factor investing and which factors are attractive in today’s market.

A recent paper from the World Economic Forum – the group that runs the Davos conference – stated that Americans pay more for healthcare than other countries but get inferior outcomes. That rhetoric was amplified by Warren Buffett, when he called health care costs a “hungry tapeworm” eating into the American economy. But, before you assume that Americans are not getting good value for their health care dollars, let’s look at the data.

We recently surveyed over 1,500 advisors to see which asset managers they are most likely to recommend to their peers. Here are the fund companies and ETF providers that came out on top in seven different categories.

At the request of The Wall Street Journal, over the last month we conducted a series of polls asking our readers to forecast the returns for the next 10 years for a series of asset classes. The results are below.