4 Big Changes in Advisor Technology

2015-03-11

Joel Bruckenstein Financial Planning

Northstar (Orion/CLS), eMoney, MoneyGuidePro, Advicent, RiXtrema and Riskalyze are among the firms with products and services aimed at helping advisors compete effectively against the B2C robo advisor platforms. Some of the newer names in this group are Jemstep, Oranj, Wealth Access and Upside.

The new AutoPilot from Riskalyze and Orion/CLS is a robo-type product that advisors can plug into their current website. Riskalyze technology handles the risk assessment, Orion technology powers client onboarding and servicing, and CLS handles the investment management, all for a cost of 25 basis points.

There are a few common threads here. All of these offer a superior end-user experience, and most incorporate account aggregation and integration with other applications as required. Finally, most offer a seamless, paperless client-onboarding experience.

Time for Investors to Simplify Their Bonds

2015-03-09

Ari I. Weinberg The Wall Street Journal

With all the talk of potential interest-rate increases in the U.S. fixed-income exchange-traded funds are in vogue.

Through February, investors poured more than $20 billion into bond ETFs67% of net flows to all exchange-traded products, according to research firm XTF Inc.as they looked to sync their fixed-income exposure with a view on rates.

Jeffrey Gundlach is running a new total-bond ETF. PHOTO: BLOOMBERG NEWS

While flexibility is one of the great benefits of the over 250 fixed-income and bond ETFsallowing investors to pinpoint portfolios for desired levels of credit and rate exposurethere are investors seeking

Wealth Access Integrates with MoneyGuidePro

2015-03-03

Alessandra Malto Investment News

Wealth Access. a personal financial management platform, announced Tuesday its integration with MoneyGuidePro. a popular financial planning software.

The companies integrated the two programs to make it easier to manage client finances and create financial plans in a streamlined process.

We have found that a lot of [advisers] were spending a lot of time gathering data to be able to have intelligent conversations with clients, said David Benskin, chief executive and founder of Wealth Access. A lot of our clients are more financial planning-oriented, so it was a really natural fit for us to integrate with MoneyGuidePro.

How ETFs Are Traded

2015-02-25

Tom Lydon ETF Trends

Exchange traded funds help advisors and investors gain exposure to broad areas of the market or focused segments through an easy-to-use investment vehicle. However, people should understand how their ETFs are traded.

Specifically, ETFs trade in two distinct markets: the secondary markets that everyone typically monitors on a stock exchange and the primary market where specific authorized participants help create and redeem ETF shares, writes Grant Englebart, portfolio manager at CLS Investments, for InvestmentNews .

Everyone should be familiar with the secondary market as it refers to the on-screen, quotable market that we track through price changes on the stock exchange, similar to tracking a companys stock.

However, ETFs are also traded on a primary market where APs and the ETF sponsor help create and redeem ETF shares for underlying securities or holdings, which occur at the net asset value of the ETF, through so-called in-kind transactions.

The creation and redemption process helps keep an ETF trading near its NAV and allows large traders to go in and out of what appears to be an ETF with low liquidity. For instance, if an advisor or investor is interested in taking large order on an ETF that only trades on a couple thousand shares per day, he or she would contact a broker or authorized participant. The AP would come back with a quote and the investor would pay the broker the necessary commission.

CLS Investments Partners With Nationwide to Offer Low-Cost Retirement Planning Solution for Individual Account Management

2015-02-25

CLS Investments MarketWired

CLS Investments, LLC (CLS), a third party money manager in the U.S. and a leading manager of Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) within individual investor portfolios, has announced the launch of Individual Account Management (IAM) on the Flexible Advantage product through Nationwides Managed Account Services platform. IAM is a low-cost solution for investors who prefer a managed approach to retirement planning. The Managed Account Services money management platform allows CLS, in conjunction with Nationwide, to help increase participants retirement readiness and offers a customized asset allocation strategy specifically designed to help meet their future needs.

IAM is an active solution that provides investors with a tailored risk-managed portfolio specific to their investing objectives and time horizon. Investments on this platform are monitored daily and adjusted within the portfolio when warranted by market conditions. Behind the portfolio management is a team with more than 170 years of combined experience, providing consistent scrutiny and risk analysis of thousands of investment options and more than 100 asset class segments and strategies for potential inclusion within a portfolio.

For many investors, their qualified retirement plan accounts are their largest asset, said Todd Clarke, CEO, CLS. The problem is, a lot of those same investors dont have the knowledge or emotional discipline to actively manage it. The IAM option through Managed Account Services provides a level of service thats usually only received by high net worth investors, and it allows Nationwides clients the confidence of knowing that there is a team of experts looking out for their investment portfolio. We are thrilled to be partnering with Nationwide to provide tailored retirement solutions to people who need it.

Putting the T Back in ETF

2015-02-24

Grant Engelbart Investment News

Exchange traded funds are exceptional tools for allocating client portfolios, but they can lose their effectiveness if implemented incorrectly. The T in ETF is often neglected by both new and long-time users of ETFs. A simple review of the often mystical world that underpins ETF trading can be helpful.

To start, ETFs essentially trade in two distinct markets.

Lets start with the secondary market what is referred to as the on-screen market. The quotes we all see on the screen when we punch in an ETF ticker is the price one would pay in the secondary market. Trading in the secondary market is very similar to trading a stock.

4 Reasons ETFs are Good for RIAs

2015-02-22

Graig Iskowitz Wealth Management Today

The low cost of ownership, high diversification, high liquidity and other general attributes of Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) are well known and have helped drive their growth and popularity. So how can a Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) take advantage of ETFs to build diversified investment strategies for their clients?

A panel discussion at the Money Management Institutes 2014 Fall Solutions Conference attempted to answer this and a number of other questions about ETFs.

Are ETFs Good for RIAs?

Robbie Cannon, CEO, Horizon Investments described ETFs as a great building block which could be used to surgically allocate client funds. Brendan Clark, President, Clark Capital Management Group proposed that ETFs make advisors look good.

The affirmations are true because ETFs have grown in variety and complexity over time. As alluded to by Brendan Clark, ETFs now are available in a wide range of strategies: active, passive, leveraged, quant, sector, geographical, tactical, etc.- this last one being the latest to emerge as a dominant force in the industry and the principal focus of the panel discussion. (See The Wizards of ETFs Behind the Curtain )

Financial Technology M&A Deals: Will Advisors Win or Lose?

2015-02-18

Daniel S. Kern Think Advisor

Financial technology firms have been at the center of attention in recent weeks, with a flurry of transactions involving financial technology providers. Private equity firm TA Associates bought a majority stake in NorthStar, parent company to CLS Investments, Gemini Fund Services and Orion Advisor Services. Fidelity moved to fill a data aggregation and financial planning hole in its offering, buying eMoney Advisor. SS&C continued its acquisitive ways, buying Advent Software after prior purchases of GlobeOp, DST Global Solutions and Portia. Prior deals in the financial technology arena included Morningstars purchase of By All Accounts, Actuas acquisition of FolioDynamix and the acquisition of Placemark by serial acquirer Envestnet. Financial technology firms left out of the merger frenzy must be starting to feel like guests wearing sweat pants to a black tie event.

CLS Investments Teams Up With Riskalyze To Launch AutoPilot

2015-02-13

Family Wealth Report Family Wealth Report

CLS Investments, a third-party money manager, has joined forces with Riskalyze to launch AutoPilot, an automated asset management platform for financial advisors. The moves comes amid the emergence of robo advisors, a term for online financial advice typically delivered at a lower cost than more traditional methods. Through Autopilot, clients can capture their risk number, sync their outside assets, open a new account and e-sign the documents.

CLS Investments, Riskalyze launch robo exclusively for advisers

2015-02-13

Alessandra Malito Investment News

CLS Investments and Riskalyze are joining forces to offer financial advisers access to a new robo-adviser. The platform, which will be known as AutoPilot, will allow users to measure investment risks inherent in the portfolio. AutoPilot is slated to go live in early April, according to CLS chief executive Todd Clarke and Riskalyze chief executive Aaron Klein. The platform, created jointly by CLS, an exchange-traded fund strategist, and Riskalyze, which offers a risk assessment and analysis tool, is intended to give advisers access to technology to better serve clients. It was unveiled Wednesday at Technology Tools for Today, a three-day gathering of advisers and technology vendors in Dallas.

As RIA Tech Grows, So Does T3

2015-02-13

Timothy D. Welsh Wealth Management

With recent high profile acquisitions of some of the biggest names in the RIA technology industry over the past couple of weeksnotably Advent Software being acquired by SS&C for $2.8 billion, Orion Advisor Services being acquired by TA Associates and eMoney Advisor being acquired by Fidelity for $250 millionthere is no question that advisor tech is hot. This years Technology Tools for Today (T3) conference is definitely a barometer of that buzz, as a record crowd of advisors, tech vendors and other industry participants gathered at the Anatole Hilton in downtown Dallas, for three days of non-stop tech this week. With its humble beginnings 10 years ago in the basement of the Ft. Lauderdale Hilton, Joel Bruckenstein and his partner David Drucker have created a powerhouse event franchise that has grown in lock step with the success of the RIA industry.

AdvisorOne CLS Shelter Fund

2015-02-12

U.S. News — Money U.S. News

U.S. News evaluated 97 Tactical Allocation Funds. Our list highlights the top-rated funds for long-term investors based on the ratings of leading fund industry researchers. Summary The investment seeks to limit the impact of large equity market declines, and the secondary investment objective is growth of capital. The fund invests primarily in U.S. Treasury bills, individual equity securities, exchange traded funds (ETFs), open-end mutual funds and closed-end funds that each invest primarily in equity securities (common stock and securities convertible into common stock). This group of ETFs and funds is referred to as underlying funds. Equity securities, whether purchased directly or indirectly through underlying funds, are not restricted by issuer capitalization or country.

CLS Investments and Riskalyze Join Forces to Launch AutoPilot, Arming Advisors With the Digital Tools Needed to Neutralize Robo-Threat

2015-02-12

CLS Investments Market Wired

CLS Investments, LLC (CLS), a third party money manager and a leading manager of exchange-traded funds (ETFs), has joined forces with Riskalyze, the company that invented the Risk Number, the first-ever quantitative way to capture client risk tolerance, align portfolios to client expectations, and quantify the suitability of investments. Together, the two companies will launch AutoPilot, a first of its kind automated asset management platform for financial advisors. With the emergence of the robo advisor (a popular term for an online financial advice offering delivered at low cost to the consumer), financial advisors who are not providing a next-generation technology experience to their clients are at a real disadvantage. AutoPilot is designed to give any advisor a significant edge in an era of rapidly evolving technology.

If You Can’t Beat Robo-Advisors, Become One

2015-02-12

Gil Weinreich ThinkAdvisor

Advisors must cringe now and then when contemplating an iPad-wielding young executive logging on to an online investment site, opening a new account and e-signing documents while the advisor is working hard the old-fashioned way, his business seemingly falling by the wayside. Well, cringe no longer. A new offering called AutoPilot aims to provide advisors with their own private-labeled automated asset management engine to neutralize the robo-advisor threat. A joint venture of CLS Investments, a third-party money manager and ETF strategist, and Riskalyze, which advisors use to generate a risk number and align portfolios with risk tolerance, AutoPilot will combine the two companies money management and analytics expertise to level the playing field between advisors and their high-tech competition.

Riskalyze, CLS Roll Out Robo Tools for Advisors

2015-02-12

Megan Leonhardt Wealth Management

CLS Investments and Riskalyze teamed up Thursday to launch an automated asset management platform to help financial advisors scale their services for lower-end clients. Advisors can plug the new platform, called AutoPilot, right into their websites. The tool will then allow online clients to access the Riskalyze software to determine risk tolerance, sync outside assets, open a new account, and e-sign all necessary documents. Once a client account is opened, CLS is instantly added as the co-advisor and acts as the asset manager, trading the portfolio, handling all the account transfers, rebalancing the account and providing a service team to answer client phone calls.

Boston private equity firm to get major share of Omaha’s NorthStar financial services companies

2015-02-10

Russell Hubbard Omaha World Herald

Omahas NorthStar family of financial services companies has agreed to sell a majority stake to a Boston-based private equity firm. TA Associates, whose investments include Omaha data center operator Cosentry, said Monday it has agreed to buy a majority share of NorthStar Financial Services Group. NorthStar operates nine subsidiary companies that serve advisers in the wealth management industry. The companies said in a statement that NorthStar executives will continue in their positions and will continue to own a large stake in the company. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Global Private Equity Firm Spreads Its Wings In US RIA, Fintech Sector With Acquisition

2015-02-10

Eliane Chavagnon Family Wealth Report

The global private equity firm TA Associates, which has offices in Boston, MA, Menlo Park, CA, London and Asia, is to acquire a majority interest in US-based NorthStar Financial Services Group and its nine subsidiary wealth management industry service providers. The move represents a significant investment and continued push by TA into the RIA and fintech space, Todd Clarke, chief executive of CLS Investments — a NorthStar subsidiary — told Family Wealth Report. With approximately $275 billion in assets under management and administration, NorthStar provides support services to registered investment advisors, independent broker-dealers and investment management firms. It has around 700 employees and is headquartered in Omaha, NE, with additional offices in Hauppauge, NY; Chicago, IL; Mill Creek, WA; and Scottsdale, AZ. Besides CLS Investments, the firms primary business lines are: Gemini Alternative Funds; Gemini Fund Services; Gemini Hedge Fund Services; Northern Lights Compliance Services; Northern Lights Distributors; and Orion Advisor Services. The creation of new alternative investment products is occurring at a rapid pace and the RIA market is one of the highest growth segments in financial services, said Todd Crockett, a managing director at TA Associates.

Voices: Rusty Vanneman, on Choosing an Investment Manager

2015-02-10

Donna Wentworth Wall Street Journal

Its conventional practice that when youre looking to hire an investment manager, you consider the managers three-year relative return as a gauge of future performance. Yet in the research that Ive done with colleagues into how to select a money manager, we found that a three-year positive return actually has a negative correlation to return in the next three years. In other words, the best time to hire a disciplined manager might be when their style of investing is out of favornot right after theyve have a good run. The market is cyclical, and so too is investment style. Consider value investing. This has been a very successful approach, but there are some years when it doesnt work. This suggests that when you see a strong three-year performance by an individual money manager, what youre really seeing might be a synergy of investment style and market conditions. It may well be that there is a cyclicality to investment manager returns, just like there is to asset class returns.

NorthStar to Sell Majority Stake to PE Firm

2015-02-10

Andrew Shilling Financial Planning

A new deal has sold off control of a sprawling, family-run financial advisory services firm. NorthStar Financial Services Group, the Omaha, Neb.-based parent company of Orion Advisor Services, CLS Investments, Gemini Alternative funds and other subsidiaries, has agreed to sell a majority stake to private equity firm TA Associates. Patrick Clarke, NorthStars late co-founder, died in a fatal plane crash in 2012. But according to son Eric Clarke, CEO of Orion Advisor Services, that is not what ignited the search for a buyer. Firms proactively reaching out to us prompted us to consider the option and once we began the process, we realized the opportunity of having a well-funded partner and the potential of NorthStar, he said.

PE Firm TA Associates Acquires Majority Stake in NorthStar Financial

2015-02-09

James J. Green Think Advisor

Boston-based private equity firm TA Associates has agreed to acquire a majority stake in Omaha-based NorthStar Financial Services Group, the holding company that includes ETF strategist CLS Investments, mutual fund administrator Gemini Fund Services and Orion Advisor Services, the outsourced portfolio accounting and management service. No financial details of the investment were disclosed. In an interview Monday, Eric Clarke, CEO of Orion, and Todd Clarke, CEO of CLS Investments, spoke of the process that resulted in the eventual partnership with TA Associates and how TAs investment will facilitate NorthStars continued growth. Both men retain significant ownership stakes in NorthStar and will remain in their management positions.

Boston firm buys Orion Advisor Services as part of NorthStar succession deal

2015-02-09

Brooke Southall RIA Biz

TA Associates will purchase a majority stake in Orion Advisor Services LLC as part of its purchase of its parent company, NorthStar Financial Services Group LLC, which has approximately $275 billion in assets under management and administration. Northstar currently holds CLS Investments LLC, Gemini Alternative Funds, Gemini Fund Services, Gemini Hedge Fund Services, Northern Lights Compliance Services and Northern Lights Distributors. With this purchase, the last of the big five RIA-portfolio-accounting firms has traded in its independence for a larger capital base, access to greater expertise and increased acquisition prowess. Joining Orion, the Omaha, Neb.-based maker of portfolio management systems for RIAs, in this category are Tamarac, Performance Technologies, Black Diamond and, most recently, Advent Software.

TA Associates To Acquire Majority Interest In NorthStar

2015-02-09

Business Wire Business Wire

TA Associates, a leading global growth private equity firm, today announced it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire a majority interest in NorthStar Financial Services Group, LLC, and its nine subsidiary wealth management industry service providers. NorthStars management team will remain significant owners following closing, which is expected to occur in the second quarter of 2015. Additional terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

TA Associates acquires Orion Advisor Services in NorthStar deal

2015-02-09

Alessandra Malito Investment News

Boston-based private equity firm TA Associates announced on Monday that it is acquiring majority interest in NorthStar Financial Services and its nine subsidiary providers, including Orion Advisor Services. NorthStar, with $275 billion in assets under management and more than 650 employees, has a variety of companies with services to help financial advisers, including: Gemini Fund Services, which provides mutual fund administration and pooled investment solutions; Orion Advisor Services, which provides software as a service and portfolio accounting services to registered investment advisers; and CLS Investments, an exchange-traded funds strategist. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Private Equity Buyer to Give NorthStar M&A Firepower

2015-02-09

Diana Britton Wealth Management

Selling to a private equity firm was not the only option the executives at NorthStar Financial Services Group were considering when two of its owners, Michael Miola and Lana Clarke, wanted to sell their shares and retire. NorthStar, the holding company for CLS Investments, Orion Advisor Services and Gemini Fund Services, was also looking at purchasing the shares themselves, going public, and taking on strategic partners. In the end, private equity firm TA Associates will take a majority interest in NorthStar, the firms announced Monday. A private equity option really rose to the top because it allowed us to continue to own a portion of the business, operate the day-to-day management of the business, allowed us to also gain some capital so that we could do acquisitions in the near-future, said Todd Clarke, CEO of CLS Investments, an ETF strategist.

Smart Beta ETFs: Have You Checked Your Index Lately?

2015-02-04

Aparna Narayanan Investors.com

Among the many things to love about ETFs is the passive investing style. For investors, that means low costs and consistent exposure.

But when it comes to portfolio holdings and weightings, not every exchange traded fund is sitting still. For successful investing, ETF owners are better off keeping up with index changes.

CLS Investments Clarke: Advisers have a fiduciary responsibility to share their continuity plans with clients

2015-02-02

Todd Clarke Investment News

Todd Clarke of CLS Investments believes advisers have a responsibility to lay out their continuity and succession plans for clients who are probably unsure of what would happen if something unexpected happened to their adviser.

Read the fine print before plunging into smart beta

2015-02-01

Trevor Hunnicutt Investment News

Advisers considering diving into smart beta may want to read the fine print before taking the plunge. Industry observers are warning investors to be cautious before adopting the hottest trend in index investing, which Morningstar Inc. estimates accounted for $1 of every $5 that moved into exchange-traded funds last year. The definition and even appropriateness of the term smart beta is highly contested.

4 Themes & 12 ETFs To Focus On In 2015

2015-01-27

Rusty Vanneman & Kostya Etus ETF.com

At CLS Investments LLC, we have a team approach to managing our various portfolios and strategies. To help unify and guide our investment methodology, we come up with key themes on a yearly basis. These themes represent areas of the market (both equity and fixed income) where we see potential for outperformance over a forward-looking, 12-month period. Therefore, we position our portfolios to take advantage of these themes. With that in mind, here are the themes for 2015: high-quality focus; emerging market opportunities; technology innovation; and tactical fixed income.

Currency-hedged ETFs giving investors new option for improving international returns

2015-01-21

Scott Kubie Investment News

Currency hedging is one of the key emerging trends in exchange-traded funds, one that has seen an explosion over the past year and can help provide clients with a new, flexible option to manage risk in their portfolio. While a small number of currency-hedged ETFs have been around for some time, the number of currency-hedged ETFs doubled in 2014. Their increasing popularity and importance is partly due to the economic environment and partly to the ongoing expansion of ETFs into new parts of the investment spectrum. To really maximize this sort of ETF, it is important to review the basics of currency hedging.

When Judging Financial Advisers, Look Beyond the Annual Return

2015-01-09

Paul Sullivan New York Times

ANY day now, financial advisers will start sending clients their annual reviews and outlooks along with year-end account statements. Both will probably look pretty good. With the 11.4 percent rise in the Standard & Poors 500 Index in 2014, chances are most investors saw their portfolios rise in 2014. But does that mean their advisers did a good job for them? Answering that may be more difficult. Returns are a piece of the puzzle, said Tom Robinson, managing director for the Americas at the CFA Institute, which administers the chartered financial analyst designation. But Id probably look at those last.

Five ETFs That Top Strategists Say Could Excel In 2015

2015-01-05

Aparna Narayanan Investors.com

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How to make ETF transparency work for you and your clients

2014-12-23

Rusty Vanneman Investment News

Rusty Vanneman shares how advisers can make #ETF transparency work for themselves and clients alike.

CLS Upgrades Open-Architecture Plan Platform

2014-12-22

Jill Cornfield PlanAdviser

The upgraded (k)Star program from CLS Investments allows plan sponsors to build 401(k) plans from the ground up with multiple service providersinstead of taking a prepackaged, bundled offering. According to Todd Clarke, chief executive of CLS, advisers and plan sponsors used to have to rely on a single plan provider to be the best at everything, a feat he termed impossible. The new (k)Star platform addresses this issue, he says, adding that the platform offers active investment strategies specializing in risk budgeting.

CLS Investments Launches Upgraded Version of (k)Star — An Open-Architecture 401(k) Solution for Plan Sponsors

2014-12-17

CLS Investments Market Wired

CLS Investments, LLC (CLS), a third party money manager in the U.S. and a leading manager of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) within individual investor portfolios, in collaboration with Professional Capital Services, LLC (PCS), a state-of-the-art retirement plan record-keeper, is pleased to announce the unveiling of the latest upgrade to (k)Star, an open-architecture solution allowing plan sponsors to build their 401(k) plans by service provider as opposed to taking a pre-packaged, bundled offering. With over 1500 ETFs and tens of thousands of Mutual Funds, (k)Star offers a comprehensive menu of active investment strategies specializing in risk budgeting, and provides plan sponsors a modular approach to service providers. This enables them to choose those with the greatest competency, which can help decrease and provide greater transparency to fees. (k)Star also provides the ability to incorporate ETFs based on a plans needs, either through managed or target date portfolios, or as part of the plans core fund lineup.

Give Me a (Tax) Break: ETFs and Tax Efficiency

2014-12-02

Grant Engelbart Investment News

Many investors are going to feel the pain from changes in the tax code on capital gains this year, after a 2013 that left mutual fund investors with unwelcome capital gains payouts to begin with. The best way to end these unpleasant surprises is to avoid unnecessary taxation in the first place. While exchange-traded funds have long been sold as a more efficient investment vehicle than traditional mutual funds, a major and potentially misunderstood facet of that efficiency has to do with taxes. Advisers often ask me what makes ETFs more tax efficient, and while the mechanics of these efficiencies can be onerous, it is worthwhile to break down some key differences of these two popular product categories.

Rethinking Tax-Loss Harvesting for Your Client

2014-12-01

Dave Lindorff Financial PLanning

If the historic pattern continues following midterm elections, which have typically seen markets performing well right into the new year, many clients, and the advisors who put them into equities, could be dancing on New Years Eve. But whether that trend repeats or not, the happy folks on Dec. 31 will also include clients counting their losses. Were talking about advisors and clients who were able to harvest losses during this years selloffs. It turns out that what used to be largely an end-of-the-year affair is now a year-round practice of aggressively looking for losses in a portfolio and harvesting them right away, not just to avoid short-term capital gains taxes in other parts of the same portfolio, but to also enhance performance. Tax-loss harvesting has become a tried-and-true process for balancing losses against gains.

Wealth Adviser: The Hot Spots for Troubled Brokers

2014-11-13

Kevin Noblet The Wall Street Journal

Brokers with lots of black marks on their records tend to be concentrated in certain areas, and these are often the same places where you find lots of moneyed retirees. Floridas Palm Beach County has one of the highest rates of troubled brokers, according to The Wall Street Journal, which analyzed the records of about 550,000 stockbrokers and identified 16 U.S. hot spots. One tactic seen in these hot spots has raised regulators concerns: plate-licker seminars to woo customers. MANAGING THE MONEY: Pimco Total Return replaced by target-date funds. Some target-date funds that had Pimco Total Return Fund among their holdings are swapping it out for other fixed-income mutual funds. According to Morningstar, among those that have chosen to replace the fund are Schwab Target mutual funds, MassMutual RetireSMART funds and Voya Solution funds. Some other target-date series are choosing to keep Pimco Total Return in their holdings, including John Hancock Retirement Living, Principal LifeTime andnaturally enoughPimco RealRetirement. Conflicting advice creates IRA mess. On advice from another broker, a client of Tennessee-based adviser Joe Franklin transferred $765,000 from his 401(k) to a traditional IRA. That created a huge tax liability, because of a Roth IRA conversion the client had carried out months earlier, Mr. Franklin tells Wealth Adviser at WSJ.com. It required some special measures, including creation of a new Solo 401(k), to resolve the problem.

Quarterly Video Statements May Become the Norm

2014-11-12

Liz Skinner Investment News

The day when financial advisers send each client a quarterly video of their updated financial performance may not be very far away. Some investment companies already are offering the technology that allows for this capability, and some are offering to do it for advisers. Chris Roberts, an adviser with United Planners Financial, over the past year has been sending about half his clients video statements provided by money manager CLS Investments, which manages most of his clients assets.

Currency Hedged ETFs Outperform, Pick up Inflows as Dollar Gains

2014-11-11

Ashley Lau Reuters

(Reuters) — U.S. investors who believe the dollars 2014 surge will continue are pouring money into exchange-traded funds that invest in foreign markets but hedge the currency part of the bet. BlackRock Inc (BLK.N), WisdomTree Investments Inc (WETF.O) and Deutsche Bank AG (DBKGn.DE) are among the companies starting new currency-hedged funds this year to take advantage of a flow of some $3.9 billion into currency-hedged ETFs so far this year. There are now 35 U.S. listed currency-hedging ETFs managing $19.3 billion in assets, compared with only about $6.7 billion in assets in 2011, meaning total assets in currency hedged ETFs have nearly tripled over the past three years, according data from Lipper and ETF.com.

Advisors Skeptical GOP Majority Will Lift Markets

2014-11-06

Ryan W. Neal Wealth Management

While the economy was one of the central issues that propelled Republicans to a major victory in Tuesdays midterm elections, many financial advisors told WealthManagement.com that the GOP majority in Congress would have little, if any, direct impact on the market. Politics has only a marginal impact at best on the financial markets, our industry, or the economy in general, said John Kleponis, CIO of Yosemite Capital Management. Usually the markets and the economy affect politics, not the other way around. While admitting that there would be little direct effect of a new Congress, some advisors were cautiously optimistic that Republican economic policies could usher in a new, business-friendly climate in the U.S.

Dividend ETFs: Growth or Yield?

2014-11-03

Marla Brill Financial Advisor

Scott Kubie has been using dividend-focused exchange-traded funds for several years. But recently he thinks these vehicles, which focus on dividend-rich pockets such as U.S. utilities, have become over-mined territory. Investors have been buying high-dividend stocks as a substitute for bonds, even though theyre clearly not, says Kubie, the chief investment strategist of CLS Investments. The big question is whether or not people are overpaying for high dividends. And in a lot of cases the answer is yes. Because dividends have historically accounted for about 40% of total stock market returns, theyre still an important part of his investment strategy. But theres a difference between funds that simply offer the highest yielders and those whose companies can show dividend growth at a healthy clip. Kubie is now focused on the latter.

CLS Investments to Offer Quarterly Video Statements for Financial Advisors to Use in Client Reporting

2014-10-29

CLS Investments MarketWired

CLS Investments, LLC (CLS), a third party money manager and a leading manager of exchange-traded funds (ETFs), has unveiled video statements as a new client-facing tool for financial advisors. By developing a new, personalized video statement format, CLS aims to position at the forefront of what will certainly be the norm for how investors expect to receive information.

CLS Investments to Offer Quarterly Video Statements for Financial Advisors to Use in Client Reporting

2014-10-29

CLS Investments Yahoo Finance

CLS Investments, LLC (CLS), a third party money manager and a leading manager of exchange-traded funds (ETFs), has unveiled video statements as a new client-facing tool for financial advisors. By developing a new, personalized video statement format, CLS aims to position at the forefront of what will certainly be the norm for how investors expect to receive information.

CLS Investments to Offer Quarterly Video Statements for Financial Advisors to Use in Client Reporting

2014-10-29

CLS Investments Seeking Alpha

CLS Investments, LLC (CLS), a third party money manager and a leading manager of exchange-traded funds (ETFs), has unveiled video statements as a new client-facing tool for financial advisors. By developing a new, personalized video statement format, CLS aims to position at the forefront of what will certainly be the norm for how investors expect to receive information.

CLS Investments to Offer Quarterly Video Statements for Financial Advisors to Use in Client Reporting

2014-10-29

CLS Investments Market Watch

CLS Investments, LLC (CLS), a third party money manager and a leading manager of exchange-traded funds (ETFs), has unveiled video statements as a new client-facing tool for financial advisors. By developing a new, personalized video statement format, CLS aims to position at the forefront of what will certainly be the norm for how investors expect to receive information.

Small Caps Miss Out on Stock Rally

2014-09-28

Alexandra Scaggs The Wall Street Journal

In the stock market right now, small isnt beautiful. While blue chips are riding a bull market now in its fifth year, shares of small companies have struggled amid concerns over lofty prices and an early-year scare over U.S. growth. Even though small stocks look cheaper after months of underperformance and the U.S. economy is showing strength, many investors arent ready to pile back in. Given that periods of market turmoil tend to buffet small stocks more than their larger counterparts, many investors in small companies are fearful as the Federal Reserve moves toward raising interest rates. Even investors hopeful for small stocks are proceeding with caution.

Brazil ETFs Stumble as Election Approaches

2014-09-26

Aparna Narayanan Investors.com

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BlackRock Pulls the Plug on Several ETFs

2014-09-12

Jill Cornfield PlanAdviser

BlackRock shuttered several funds in its exchange-traded fund (ETF) line, including 10 target-date ETFs. The closings in general won’t have much impact, according to Rusty Vanneman, chief investment officer of CLS Investments in Omaha, Nebraska, because in the defined contribution (DC) world, ETFs have not had a lot of traction. “Over mutual funds, in aggregate, they have lower costs,” Vanneman tells PLANADVISER, and this notable cost advantage might persist, especially as new smart or strategic beta ETFs come to market.

Cashing in on the sellers market for advisory firms

2014-09-02

Elizabeth Dilts Reuters

When Chicago-based broker Nick Brait, 62, wrote his five-year plan in 2012, he decided that by 2017, he wanted to spend almost half of every year traveling the world and sailing the U.S. Great Lakes. The best way to accomplish that, he figured, was to sell his financial practice, Lasting Legacy Ltd. and gradually move to a scaled-back schedule.

How ETFs Define Quality

2014-08-30

Lewis Braham Barrons

Quality stock investing is the latest marketing meme in ETFs. But for some investors, its a joke: How do you define quality? Quality is the stuff I own, and crap is the stuff I dont own, quips Doug Sandler who, as co-manager of the RiverFront Moderate Growth & Income fund (ticker: RMIAX), owns one of the 18 quality ETFs, most of which have launched in the past three years. When you hear managers say it was a low-quality rally, it means all the stuff they didnt own worked. Its a nebulous term.

Why shock-and-awe over low succession planning rates is unhelpful and distasteful

2014-08-21

Todd Clarke RIABiz

I don’t know about you, but the incessant harping about the hapless succession planning by financial advisors in our industry is wearing on my nerves like a car alarm set off by nothing, whose owner is nowhere nearby. Even a casual search on “succession planning” in the trade press reveals hundreds of articles on the matter — crowing that only 17% or 22% or 28% of financial advisors have a succession plan. I would wager that the majority of these offers of advice and input are lavished on advisors by those in the business who stand to benefit greatly — either by fat fee from writing a plan or a fatter outcome should an aging advisor sell them, or allow them to broker, their book of business, aka their life’s work.

Brokerages Face Exodus as Advisers Get Better Deal in Indie Firms

2014-08-13

Elizabeth Dilts Reuters

The four biggest U.S. brokerage firms are facing an exodus of employees who are finding they can make more money and save on taxes by taking their clients and starting an independent firm before they retire.

Top Brokers Are Walking Out of Wall Street and Taking The Most Important Thing With Them

2014-08-13

Elizabeth Dilts Business Insider

The four biggest U.S. brokerage firms are facing an exodus of employees who are finding they can make more money and save on taxes by taking their clients and starting an independent firm before they retire.

CLS Unites with Texas 529 College Savings Plans

2014-08-12

CLS Investments PR Newswire

CLS Investments, LLC (CLS), a third party money manager and a leading manager of exchange traded funds (ETFs) within individual investor portfolios, is collaborating with parent company NorthStar Financial Services Group, LLC (NorthStar), in an agreement with the Texas Prepaid Higher Education Tuition Board to help manage three of the states four 529 college savings plans—the prepaid Texas Tuition Promise Fund, the advisor-sold LoneStar 529 Plan and the direct-sold Texas College Savings Plan.

Why Asia Is Again A Hot Investment Theme

2014-08-12

Scott Kubie ETF.com

After a number of rough years, Asian markets are beginning to show some signs of life, and for good reason. Asian markets are becoming fundamentally more attractive, offering excellent value, and are ripe for increased interest in their securities. While a number of excellent ETFs cover Asia, the iShares MSCI All Country Asia ex Japan ETF (AAXJ | B-79), is my preferred ETF to take advantage of the opportunity.

Falling Natural-Gas Prices Dim Utility Stocks

2014-08-07

Timothy Puko The Wall Street Journal

A tumble in natural-gas prices has short-circuited one of 2014s success stories, a sharp rally in utility stocks. The S&P 500 Utilities index is down 8.4% since hitting a record at the end of June. Utilities were the worst-performing sector in the S&P 500 in July. Money managers had flocked to utility stocks along with other assets that promise regular payouts at a time when returns on many safe-haven investments, including U.S. government bonds, hover near historic lows.

Financial advisors ‘unprepared for retirement’