We believe that Fortigent distinguishes itself among other wealth management solution providers through our highly experienced, respected experts and the experience we've acquired developing wealth management solutions for ultra affluent investors and their advisors. Our commitment to providing the highest level of client service and support ensures that advisors receive full benefit from our breadth of expertise. We provide our clients with ongoing advice, indepth analysis, research and commentary of topical and relevant issues. Fortigent's Advisor Portal gives advisors direct access to white papers and written reports, guaranteeing that information is always timely and relevant.
March 20, 2008
On the surface, manager categorizations may seem neat and tidy, especially for US equity managers with style boxes ranging from large value to small growth. While these categorizations are a useful starting point to categorize and compare managers, it is important to look beyond the style box conventions that are so commonly used, especially when analyzing international equity managers.
In this two-part series (part two will be coming soon), we explore a range of alpha and beta drivers that are critical for selecting and benchmarking international equity managers. This information is an important component for implementing portfolio decisions.
February 26, 2008
Alternative investments play an increasingly important role within high net worth portfolios, but many advisors still struggle with incorporating them appropriately within a broader asset allocation context.
The purpose of this article is to support the argument that alternative investments belong in high net worth portfolios, analyze what the appropriate allocation is for them, and summarize some of the challenges associated with actually implementing more alternatives within portfolios of different sizes.
October 22, 2007
The global markets have experienced very strong performance over the past several years. Investors who have seen this situation before (1999, for example) remember how quickly the market can turn those profits into losses. The recent market turmoil sparked by the melt-down in sub-prime mortgages has reintroduced investors to a long-dormant market force – volatility.
Many investors, at least if their low savings rates and heavy use of leverage are any indications, seem to have forgotten that markets can go down as well as up. Lulled by a strong bull market, low interest rates, an expanding economy, and low market volatility, they seem more interested in the “next hot thing” than in preserving the wealth they have already created.
While we are not predicting recession nor even a protracted bear market, we do believe it makes sense to at least be aware of the strategies available for hedging and protecting investment portfolios, and that is the focus of this edition of Inflection Point. We will highlight the pros and cons of multiple hedging approaches, and discuss the issues investors should consider before choosing a course of action. We hope this will serve both as an educational tool and as a catalyst for further discussions with your clients about their long-term objectives, their view of the market, and their priorities with respect to their investment portfolios.
September 11, 2007
As economic globalization continues, investors are increasing their exposure to developed international and emerging markets managers. The traditional means for high net worth investors to access these asset classes is the Separately Managed Account (SMA). But virtually all SMAs available to high net worth investors invest only in the American Depository Receipts (ADRs) of non-US companies, which eliminates a significant percentage of the potential investments.
This Inflection Point compares investing internationally via ADR-only SMAs to investing via unrestricted mutual funds and/or limited partnerships (LPs), and concludes that investors should consider employing the latter, because of the wider opportunity set available to skilled managers.
July 10, 2007
High net worth clients expect good investment performance. But many economists anticipate lower realized returns in the coming years, and clients and advisors alike are asking for new ideas.
This issue of Inflection Point surveys several of the more interesting investment ideas currently working their way into portfolios. Some of them remain largely academic or institutional. All of them, however, are trying to capture that elusive prey – alpha – and we believe they will all be in wide-spread use in high net worth portfolios within three to five years. Advisors, and investors, should be paying close attention.
