Portfolio Building

Recent insights from Natixis Investment Managers breaks down a few fixed income risks that investors may not be aware of.

In this article, we’ll remind you what listed real assets are, explain how they fit into an asset allocation, and help you understand why we believe now is an attractive time to invest in the asset class.

With Direct Indexing, you can help your clients prepare for life-changing transactions and minimize capital gains taxes by selectively harvesting losses to offset those gains, and implementing tax-efficient trading strategies.

In this article, Russ Koesterich discusses why he believes U.S. exceptionalism is a trend that is likely to continue.

Many investors today use EM debt for the wrong reasons, manage it imprudently, or overlook the best parts.

Volatility creates a number of challenges for advisors and investors, but also opportunities for those who know where to look.

Fixed income experts at Natixis Investment Managers recently weighed in with outlooks on rate cuts and how to approach bonds.

The tendency to blindly follow these rules has led investors towards prematurely de-risking and over-estimating the likelihood of recession.

Markets changed character to broad-based optimism relating to the economy. The economic picture began to come into focus with inflation continuing to moderate as the economy maintains steady growth and employment. The result was a stark turnaround for economically integrated or interest rate sensitive assets, which resulted in a great quarter for diversified multi-asset portfolios. New Frontier sets a major milestone in Q4, marking 20 years of investing at the end of October.

In this article, Russ Koesterich discusses gold may continue to serve as a store of value in the current environment.

Cash strategies may seem safe, but inflation can bite into returns. Instead, investors can try to outperform inflation with equities.

Commodity returns are hard to predict, yet all commodities have something in common—prices that tend to return to their long-run average, a characteristic described as mean reversion. For investors, this behavior could offer an exciting opportunity to improve long-term performance potential.

For decades, a key component of many investors’ portfolios was a fixed income ladder. It was intended to provide ballast to the more volatile equity allocation and help reduce interest-rate risk.

The 2022 broad market downturn across major asset classes came as a nasty surprise to investors. Historically, such an event is very rare, and no one was expecting to see almost all asset classes down for the year. Yet, even though it might seem as if diversification was of no help in 2022, the story changes if we look beyond the major headline asset classes.

The puck has certainly moved since our last market commentary. This month, we argue that the needle on portfolio construction should move with it. Equities have been the driver of returns for much of the last few years.

Alpha (α) is a fundamental yet poorly understood concept in finance. Simply put, it is the difference between the return of an investment and that of a risk-adjusted benchmark. In a more advanced definition, alpha is the residual in an asset pricing equation (see Appendix A). Alpha is what active managers strive to achieve and passive managers do not pursue.

If climate portfolios are positioned in the same giant US stocks held in broad equity allocations, investors may unwittingly double down on risk.

Investors can use this Natixis ETF to lock in robust income and capital appreciation, while generating security against equity volatility.

The major market event in September was the Fed's 50 basis point rate cut following the September 18th Federal Open Market Committee meeting. There was broad consensus the Fed would cut rates, though the 50 basis points (as opposed to 25) and perhaps the tone of Jay Powell's press conference surprised to the upside...

About eight in 10 investors (81%) believe they must fund their own retirement as opposed to relying on private and public pensions.

While agency mortgage-backed securities offer compelling valuations, not every mortgage is created equally.

The last two years brought challenges for investors across all walks of life, but particularly for retirees.

Strategies and best practices for equity portfolios.

A new wave of opportunity seems set to flow into private credit markets, which could enhance risk-adjusted returns and diversify portfolios. What's driving this potential?

In theory, growing a pool of wealth over decades – whether for a family, an endowment, or a pensioner – is a straightforward endeavor.

Now that the Fed has begun the rate-cut cycle, investors can use option income ETFs to provide long-term income and risk protection.

The last five years have bombarded investors with a seemingly never-ending array of challenges. Yet despite all these obstacles the S&P 500 is up almost 90% as of this writing.

With attractive valuations, emerging market equities look like a good opportunity. A factor investing strategy, designed well, may enhance performance and help manage some key risks.

In this article, Russ Koesterich discusses why the next bout of market volatility may last a bit longer than previous downturns and how to best position your portfolio against this backdrop.

Due to balance sheet concerns, the higher-for-longer interest rate environment has been a significant headwind for the relative performance of U.S. small-cap equities.

An analysis of the leadership reversal and market sell-off observed in recent weeks and why an emphasis on equities with consistent fundamentals is justified.

Last week, the BlackRock Target Allocation Team reduced their equity exposure and reduced some growth allocations in favor of value.

As market sensitivity to economic data continues, investors would do well to consider active strategies amidst ongoing volatility.

A number of myths exist about value investing as it pertains to timing the economic cycle, interest rates, and elections.

Build a dividend growth portfolio. The stock market as measured by the S&P is currently at an all-time high which makes it very challenging to try to build a quality dividend growth portfolio.

Over nearly three decades, I’ve been dedicated to the sport of running. For the last five years, I chased the elusive goal of qualifying for the Boston Marathon, my ultimate aspiration. It wasn’t until I sought the expertise of a professional coach that I finally achieved this dream.

Advisors are offering customized holistic wealth management to their clients and their families to help ensure an orderly transition of wealth

For bond investors looking to the near- and longer-term, Matt Eagan stepped through considerations and opportunities in the global market.

A recent mid-year strategist pulse check from Natixis revealed where strategists believe the top opportunities exist across markets.

When growth slows and rates fall, what will happen to an asset class with long-dated cash flows that are not very economically sensitive? Well, it is likely to strongly outperform. Ergo the short-term outlook for growth relative to value/small caps appear to be rosy.

In this article, Russ Koesterich discusses factors behind gold’s impressive performance year to date.

With tech stocks making up a substantial portion of broad market indexes, investors may wonder what will happen when the tech rally ends.

Today’s passive index investing requires active choices, as customization and innovations in index funds have resulted in new considerations for investors and the potential for greater control.

The economic data is coming in very good for markets. Starting with GDP, we observed a modest growth rate of around 2% in the first half of the year. While not spectacular, it’s far from recessionary conditions. This level of growth, with slight inventory accumulation, suggests a stable economic backdrop.

Experts from the third-largest ETF manager by AUM make their predictions regarding active, retail, and inheritances.

Explaining Strong Returns in the Face of Value Headwinds.

Longer duration Treasuries have been mired in a bear market since 2020 but could finally start to see a reversal of fortune.

In this article, Russ Koesterich discusses why bonds are still not a reliable hedge for equities in an environment where inflation remains elevated and volatile.

I have been looking forward to writing this blog for a long time. I joined Russell Investments on July 12, 2004 and now that it is my 20th anniversary, I feel it’s the right moment to share some of what I have learned along the way.

The mid- to long-term costs of missed opportunities by staying in cash mean investors should consider moving off the cash sidelines.

June of 2024 was a good month for financial markets. Leading the pack were (again) technology stocks, with the NASDAQ up 6% on the month. Close in second place were emerging market ex-China stocks, largely driven by India, Taiwan, and South Korea, all of which had large rallies in the month.

The Generation X report released by Natixis Investment Managers included a check of investment sentiment and opportunities for advisors.

Looking to assess your portfolio for the current inflation outlook? Natixis Investment Managers' Cyclicality vs. Inflation outlook can help.

Macro worries meet AI wonderwall. Stocks have managed to climb a wall of macro worries, thanks to largely solid earnings that we believe can expand beyond AI beneficiaries and continue to support prices. As Q3 begins, we look for:

The growing popularity of alternatives creates increased demand for private assets, with one surprising category above all.

Bitcoin could be headed for the stratosphere, according to a new report by Bernstein. The global investment firm is predicting that the world’s top digital asset could hit $200,000 by 2025, $500,000 by 2029 and—no, you’re not seeing things—$1 million per token by 2033.

Partnering with firms that have the requisite scale and demonstrated access to top-tier investment opportunities is one way investors can potentially eliminate the J-curve in a private markets investment program.

High-yield credit is experiencing strong inflows and investor confidence, potentially offering attractive returns and reduced volatility compared to other risk assets.