Marguerita (Rita) Cheng, CFP®

The 60/40 Glidepath is Dead – Now What? That was the theme of the recent RIA conference in Miami led by Ric Edelman, CBDA. As the three-day event wrapped up, I moderated a leadership panel on alternative investments—not just as a portfolio tool, but as a game-changer for financial advisors. With us were two industry heavyweights: ➡️ William Marr – Long-time alts leader, Sr. MD and Head of Growth at Welton Investment Partners ($1.6B+ AUM global macro & hedged equity manager) ➡️ Greg Khost – Alts veteran, MD and Head of Biz Dev at Neuberger Berman Wealth ($80B+ AUM) Together, we tackled two broad areas: 1️⃣ RETHINKING PORTFOLIOS The 60/40 model had its run. Inflation, rates, and volatility demand a new playbook. Alts offer a broader toolbox (following the taxonomy of Tony Davidow, CIMA® ): ➡️ Growth: Private equity, venture, hedged equity, real estate ➡️ Income: Private credit, structured credit, real estate ➡️ Defense: Macro, managed futures, market-neutral, tail risk hedges ➡️ Inflation Protection: Commodities, real assets, infrastructure How much alts? How to fund them? It depends on the advisor’s practice and client needs. 2️⃣ COMPETITIVE EDGE Alts aren’t just about diversification—they’re a differentiator. Clients don’t just want diversification—they want an edge. Advisors fluent in alts stand out, tapping private markets, uncorrelated strategies, and volatility reducers to go beyond the standard stock-and-bond playbook. But Here’s the Catch… 🔹 Due diligence is critical—what red flags matter most? 🔹 Client conversations—how do you explain alts without overwhelming them? 🔹 What’s next? AI, tokenization, interval funds, alternative ETFs—the landscape is evolving fast. ✅ Takeaway The best advisors don’t just adapt—they lead. The democratization of alts is here, and those who master it will set themselves apart. How are you integrating alts? Drop your thoughts below. Shoutout to Don Friedman, CBDA, conference leader extraordinaire, for making this discussion happen. Many thanks to the conference team: Michelle Bloom, Jack Marshall, and all at The Truth About Your Future with Ric Edelman and Digital Assets Council of Financial Professionals. Thanks to all the great speakers who generously shared their knowledge and insights: Bill Barhydt, Rick Kent, Jen Leary, Avy Stein, Annie Brinckman, CFP®, RICP, BFA, John Mell, CFA, CFP®, Patrick Runyen, CPA/PFS, CFP®, Howard Fillit, MD, Heather M. Snyder, George Vradenburg, Travis Harrison, Kerry Peck, Andrew Altfest, CFP®, Parker Ence, Caleb Silver, Karen Barr, Joshua Gross, Aneet Deshpande, CFA, Michael B. Greenwald #AlternativeInvestments #FinancialAdvisors #PortfolioStrategy #WealthManagement #DemocratizationOfAlts Not investment advice.

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As endowments and foundations rethink their portfolios, private markets and impact strategies may provide attractive risk-adjusted returns and mission alignment. Discover how institutions can fund the future with confidence with Impact Investments Principal Andrew Durante. https://lnkd.in/eA_99CQv

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The Rise of Institutional Families Family offices are no longer just managing wealth they’re learning to become institutions. What’s shifting isn’t just the numbers it’s the mindset. Families are no longer just preserving capital They’re building platforms, educating heirs, and shaping policy. But here’s the truth most miss: They’re not institutional yet  They’re outsourcing smartly to learn how. From CIOs to governance frameworks, from tech partners to investment syndicates. Today’s family offices are outsourcing to professionalize, not to delegate blindly. They’re learning. They’re upgrading. In the Middle East, this transformation is accelerating. The intersection of legacy, liquidity, and ambition is creating a new kind of powerhouse: The Institutional Family. The Emirates Family Office Association #EFOA #InstitutionalFamilies #FamilyOffice #NextGenWealth #Legacy #PrivateCapital #Governance #MiddleEastFinance

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After a rough first quarter for U.S. equity markets – and a tumultuous start to the second, investors are understandably asking: What’s next? And more importantly, how should portfolios be positioned amid continued uncertainty? Our latest quarterly equity market review and outlook from Nuveen, a TIAA company dives into these questions head-on. We highlight where we see opportunities and risks ahead, and our preferred equity market segments based on geography and style.  The losses posted by U.S. equities in the first quarter, driven by concerns about the Trump administration’s aggressive trade policies and their economic impact, have not abated. Meanwhile, aided by a weakening U.S. dollar, non-U.S. equities in aggregate have continued to outperform in April, led by select markets in Europe and the Asia/Pacific region, including Japan. In our view, markets will stay volatile as long as investors remain concerned about slowing economic growth, the prospect of higher inflation and elevated policy uncertainty, particularly regarding tariffs and the prospect of an all-out global trade war. We will continue to monitor developments in this unsettled environment to determine if and to what extent declining business and consumer confidence is translating into diminished actual activity. The key question is: Is this a temporary soft patch – or the early signal of a potential recession? To learn more about the state of global equity markets and where we see both the best investment opportunities and the most salient risks, read our second-quarter review and outlook, “Uncertainty grips global equity markets,” available here: https://lnkd.in/g_w9tMEy And stay up to date with our economic and market views by subscribing to my weekly commentary: https://lnkd.in/gSduisBi

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The FOMC meeting last week was the first such meeting in a long time that wouldn’t make the top three market events of the week. Ranking ahead of it was the news on DeepSeek, the Trump administration issuing a temporary pause on federal assistance programs, four Mag 7 companies reporting Q4 earnings, and finally President Trump announcing 25% tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico and 10% on China. What does all this mean for the investment outlook? The medium-term outlook is still constructive, but downside policy risks are heightened and volatility will likely reign in the near term. The medium-term optimism is a function of the US economy being in good shape, supported by the GDP and PCE inflation data last week. There's little to suggest much slowing absent policy errors or negative shocks. The policy error risk is that the announced tariffs, with potentially more coming for other regions and products, are directionally negative for growth and inflation. We do not expect the tariffs on Canada and Mexico to be sustained for a prolonged period because of these economic costs, as well as US industry groups representing impacted companies filing court challenges and lobbying for their removal. Already on Monday as of this writing, tariffs on Mexico have been delayed one month. The bottom line: After a furious week of market-relevant news, we’re left with the following conclusions. First, the US economy is in solid shape, and it should stay that way absent policy errors, a critical pillar for our constructive medium term investment outlook. Second, the tariff outlook is tilting away from our base case of aggressive tariffs, but not yet at our bear case of universal tariffs and the situation is evolving quickly. Third, if the DeepSeek news was a de facto stress test of the AI growth thesis, by the end of the week we could say that it passed. Read the report for all the details.

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"A factor-based TPA framework, like the one we describe here, offers a practical blueprint for implementation to help wealth managers systematically analyze, integrate and optimize portfolios that include private assets." Read more from Dhruv Sharma, Ph.D. on CAIA Association's blog. #TPA #totalportfolioapproach #factorinvesting

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If you are going to include an allocation to trend following, given the observation of a strong #dispersion of annualized returns among #CTAs, you should consider diversifying across multiple CTAs (or trend following strategies). To finish reading, see blog by Larry Swedroe in comments field.

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A US sovereign wealth fund (SWF) would offer the US a funding mechanism for long-term strategic investments. Mark Kennedy and Sarah Sobalvarro from The Wilson Center's Wahba Institute for Strategic Competition provide a roadmap for defining the fund’s purpose and structure. https://lnkd.in/emzsR9bF

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Glad to see the argument that universities with large endowments could tap into those funds to cover costs due to government funding cuts gaining visibility. Foundationworld offers a useful example of how a little financial creativity could help this work, though context has changed in important ways. So, what’s the Foundation precedent? In 2020, facing the pandemic, the Ford Foundation raised $1 billion in bonds to cover an increase in their grant budget (to 10% of their total endowment in 2020 and 2021). This was a strategic move to keep their investments intact, rather than selling at a loss during a time or market crisis. And a bet that long-term investment returns would outpace the cost of the interest payments. These bonds received a AAA risk rating because the $13BN endowment could be used to repay investors if necessary. And because interest rates were historically low, they locked in ~2.6% rates for 30-50 years (there were two bonds issued with different timing and terms). It wasn't just Ford. MacArthur Foundation, W.K. Kellogg Foundation and others together raised $1.8BN. Even with these low rates, Ford will still pay $1.2 billion in interest in addition to paying the $1 billion back. But if the $1 billion left in the endowment generates a 6% annual compounded return, that $1BN alone will be worth more than $11 billion when the last bond is paid off in 2070 (even after covering the ~$25MM annual interest payments.) Yep, compounding really is as amazing as your math teacher said it is. For universities today the market context is different. Assets are more highly valued, so selling them is not as potentially costly. And interest rates have risen, so a similar $1 billion bond would probably come with 5-6% interest rates and cost universities $2.4BN in interest payments. But I wonder if universities could drive down the interest costs by driving up demand for bonds in a way that mirrors the 20th century "War Bond" campaigns? Appeal to alums and others who want to support academic freedom by buying these bonds. Would you substitute a AAA-rated corporate bond in your portfolio for a AAA-rated bond from your alma mater even if the yield was lower? What about from your Donor Advised Fund? 🤔 I also wonder if issuing bonds could help universities work around the problem that much of their endowment assets are purpose restricted? As long as enough of the endowment is available to serve as collateral, could the bond then be issued for broad purpose? Obviously, financial engineering is not the most pressing issue for University board members or any of us right now. But smart financing willing to break the mold—as Darren Walker John Palfrey and others did in 2020—can expand options and reduce their long-term cost. It just can't magically make funding cuts disappear.

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You know we love our ALTS Conference Series events and #ALTSSG was truly one to remember. Thanks to everyone who came out to learn, network, and celebrate the official release of our latest TPA paper, "From Vision to Execution: How Investors Are Operationalizing the Total Portfolio Approach" CAIA CEO John L Bowman, CFA shared exclusive insights from our interviews with 12 global asset owners – here's a look at his full introduction! John was later joined by CAIA Association chair Jayne Bok, Trevor Persaud, and Bjarne Graven Larsen for a panel discussion how to implement TPA – opportunities, challenges, and practical considerations. Thanks to our partners at Markets Group, ALTS, and CFA Society Singapore + everyone involved! Nick Pollard CAIA APAC Regional Focus Page #TotalPortfolioApproach #CAIA #NextIsHere

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Research warns that HiPo programs are often riddled with bias favoring extroversion, conformity, or leaders who “look the part.” Without careful design, these programs risk reinforcing inequality and groupthink. The literature calls for more transparent, inclusive, and evidence-based criteria. If your HiPo pool looks homogenous, it’s time to revisit your definition of potential.

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The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget noted in a report this week that the US government, in the first two months of this fiscal year, has already borrowed $439 billion. That’s $7 billion per day, and we’re headed towards the deficit nearing $2 trillion for the fiscal year. The US has a unique advantage versus other fiscally challenged peers, thanks to its globally dominant role in bond and currency markets. But that doesn’t mean the US fiscal trajectory won’t be felt in markets and the economy. Greater bond supply will push up borrowing costs for households and businesses and constrain the government if we don’t also have increasing demand for US debt. https://lnkd.in/eiiSPsG8

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