Products & portfolios: archive
Every Products & portfolios story in Advisors, newest first. 133 stories
1 story
Vanguard 500 at 50: the case for a boring core
Fifty years after a disappointing launch, the anniversary numbers give advisors a ready script for defending a low-cost, broad core-equity position.
1 story
BlackRock's EM downgrade warns advisors to look past the geographic label
Before treating an EM fund as a diversifier, check how much of it sits in the same AI supply chain.
1 story
Probability-based guardrails would require 3% where Guyton-Klinger implies 28%
Kitces's analysis finds a 3% reduction can do the job where the classic framework imposes 28%.
2 stories
Schwab's SIPC sweep switch demands a client cash policy
The FDIC-to-SIPC conversion is a coverage change first and a yield event second; advisors who do not move idle cash deliberately will explain it twice.
Bitcoin's $1 million ETF swap beckons advisors
The in-kind exchange mechanism lets clients move concentrated crypto into a managed ETF wrapper without an immediate sale, shifting the advisor's job to custody and fee due diligence.
2 stories
July CTA drawdown puts manager selection to the test
The trend index gave back half its 2026 gain in July; the funds with the most concentrated factor bets took the steepest losses.
IRS proposes 10-basis-point cap for Trump accounts
Proposed regulations confine the growth period to low-cost U.S. index funds and ETFs, with no leverage and Treasury's SPYM pick the starter vehicle.
2 stories
State sales tax turns gold into a state-by-state trade
Advisors recommending bullion should check the client's delivery address before the trade, not after.
Treasury risk premium turns bond ballast into a scenario
A $40 trillion debt overhang shows up in long yields, and retirement income is the collateral.
3 stories
Alfa Prime turns the investment committee into software
The multi-model AI 'investment committee' debuts with a small cohort of institutional partners, leaving advisors to wait for the validation that earns client-portfolio trust.
Proposed Trump Account rules leave a short list of large-cap index funds
A 90% U.S. equity test, a bond ban, and a 0.1% fee cap leave little room for target-date or ESG funds.
The 60/40's bond sleeve is no longer automatic ballast
Inflation broke the relationship that made bonds cushion equity losses, so advisors must now stress-test the 40% as a scenario bet rather than a default.
1 story
First close is the only close that matters in evergreen secondaries
A discount to audited NAV is real value, but it is spent quickly as assets grow; advisors should time allocations accordingly.
6 stories
Schwab's crypto line forces advisors to pick a side
Advisors who want digital assets in client accounts have to source them outside the Schwab custody relationship.
The yield dip is a repricing window for advisors
Fund managers are at their heaviest equity allocation since 2021 while flagging bond yields as a top risk—the Treasury buyback dip is the moment to reprice duration.
Box Spreads Turn Borrowing Into an Options Trade
The strategy gives wealthy clients liquidity without a tax event, but its edge over a bank depends on options pricing.
Advisors steady on today, darker on the next six months
The WMIQ Advisor Sentiment Index holds above neutral on current conditions, but the six-month outlook has worsened for a third straight month.
IRS's Trump account proposal turns on a 10-basis-point cap
Proposed regulations would confine growth-period Trump account assets to low-fee U.S. index funds, leaving advisors to focus on contribution timing and post-17 repositioning.
Clients are still buying risk, but only the quality kind
Weekly flows show large-cap equities and high-grade bonds gaining, a barbell with concentration and income questions for advisors.
2 stories
SEC asks FINRA for an accredited-investor exam that tests know-how
An exam-based accreditation path would give advisors a new way to qualify clients for private-market sleeves.
Invesco cuts fees 20%, prices real estate exit at 95 cents
Advisors weigh a 20% fee break against a 95-cent tender in a fund with a $2.2 billion redemption queue.
11 stories
HSA balances hit a record; most owners still don't invest
EBRI's new data put the average balance at $5,532, with just 18% of holders invested beyond cash. That hands advisors an asset-location opening.
Why active funds lag: their trading erases their stock picks
Morningstar's Jeff Ptak finds the 100 largest active U.S. stock funds picked stocks better than they traded them.
For inherited IRAs, the 60-day rollover is a one-way door
Slott's first uncorrectable retirement error turns a $400,000 inheritance into an immediate tax bill.
Fisher's $4 billion Treasury ETF swap hands advisors a duration check
The Fisher-linked flows arrived before the Treasury's surprise buyback announcement and give advisors reason to revisit duration with 30-year yields at their highest since 2007.
History's capital cycle casts the AI boom as a railway moment
The capital cycle says AI's investors, not the technology, are at risk.
CAIS doubles to $2 billion, and the cap table becomes diligence
A $170 million round at double the last valuation makes the platform's own investor roster part of private-market due diligence.
Vanguard launches customizable models without breaking the 0.07% expense ratio
The new offering lets advisors adjust select Vanguard models through three external platforms while keeping the low-cost pitch intact.
Fidelity pushes cash beyond money markets, without naming the three
A Fidelity briefing claims three fixed income options have outperformed money market products but stops short of naming them, framing the pitch as direction rather than product menu.
Treasury doubles long-dated buybacks as 30-year yield hits 19-year high
The doubling buys a reprieve; the supply picture keeps long-duration risk high.
The fee-disclosure lesson in the SEC's pre-IPO fund case
The complaint's 46% average markup is what 'no upfront fee' can look like in a pre-IPO fund sold to retail clients.
Bonds' newfound unpopularity is an active manager's opening
A Financial Planning essay argues the 2022 correlation break and higher yields make a second look at fixed income worthwhile.
8 stories
Index funds reach 42% of average advisor portfolio, Fidelity says
The second-quarter Portfolio Insights report shows a twelve-point jump in index fund allocations and ETF expense ratios falling to 43 basis points.
Fidelity launches custom SMA advisor learning series
The first installment gives advisors language to explain custom SMA benefits and the risks that come with them.
Fidelity's alts curriculum primes advisors for the private-market push
A CE-accredited program gives advisors the language to place private-market positions in client portfolios without hiding the risks.
Fidelity's allocation team calls the Q2 rebound a caution on valuations
The recovery broadened and AI capital spending powered earnings, but the team says historically high prices leave little room for error.
Fidelity's sector outlook favors three groups, flags energy valuations
The quarterly update gives advisors a defensible sector list and a warning on energy, then leaves the arithmetic to them.
Hightower: AI capex is structural
Hightower's 2026 outlook argues the AI buildout is real, funded, and still early — and hands advisors the numbers to make the case to clients.
LPL publishes a money market fund guide for the client cash question
The guide's risk disclosures make it a useful handout for the client cash question.
Fidelity argues fund picking is a skill, not a cost center
Fidelity's manager research unit says disciplined fund selection adds value. Its new paper gives no numbers to back it up.