Ritholtz Wealth Management has created an environmental, social and governance version of its classic asset allocation models, known as the Portland Portfolio.
The portfolio's name was jokingly coined by Josh Brown, CEO at Ritholtz, and it stuck, Joey Fishman, Ritholtz's "in-house ESG expert," said with a laugh. Fishman, who is based in Portland, Oregon, is the director of ESG investing for the Portland Portfolio.
"Portland is I think emblematic of a lot of the Pacific Northwest – where you have a lot of very talented, very well-educated people that care about this stuff," Fishman told ThinkAdvisor. "They definitely care about the environment. It's a very outdoor-activity part of the country. It's probably more of a pressing issue out here versus maybe more middle America."
The demand was there, but the firm wanted to make sure these portfolios are actually going to perform. The challenge, Fishman said, was to create a tax efficient, globally diversified portfolio not weighed down by implementation costs nor subject to an unrealistic interpretation of what it means to be sustainable.
"Not all ESG indexes are created equal and there will be gray areas," Fishman said. "Some screens are too exclusionary while others are nothing more than a weighting scheme with an expensive wrapper."
Rather than create a brand new ESG index, the Ritholtz team decided to use ESG as an "overlay" in addition to traditional financial analysis. The overlay screens for companies with good records on ESG issues.
"This way our clients will still have a good portfolio based on well established investment principles," Fishman said.
The Portland Portfolio will be offered across all of the firm's client segments — institutional, individual, family office and corporate retirement plans.
TD Ameritrade Launches Its First Mobile App for Long-Term Investors
TD Ameritrade Investment Management LLC announced the soft launch of its first mobile app for long-term investors with managed accounts.
The TD Ameritrade Portfolios app, which is now in a pilot preceding its official launch in January, supports client accounts utilizing Essential Portfolios, an automated, low-cost advisory service for digital-first investors, and Selective Portfolios, an existing managed account offering.
The first version of the app is currently available for Apple iPhone devices, with the launch of the Android app and additional upgrades and features planned for the first half of 2017. The app is available free of charge.
AIG Introduces New Fixed Annuity Product
American International Group, Inc. (AIG) launched a new fixed annuity product today, Assured Edge Income Builder, with a guaranteed lifetime withdrawal benefit. Assured Edge Income Builder is intended to offer investors an income advantage by offering investors lifetime income, flexibility and security.
Assured Edge Income Builder is available in all states except New York.
