In Research's October cover story, "The New Wave of Active ETFs," Contributing Editor Jane Wollman Rusoff reports that the fast-changing field of exchange-traded funds is heading for a new watershed: the rise of actively managed funds. She talks to enthusiasts of this prospect as well as skeptics who question how many clients need active ETFs.
Also in the issue, Gerald Burstyn examines the work of economist Richard Thaler in "How a Freethinking Economist Saved Your Retirement Portfolio." Thaler, who will be honored at the upcoming RIIA conference, is using the insights of behavorial psychology to aid retirement income decision-making.
In "Fading Superpowers," Global Economy columnist Alexei Bayer writes about some surprising similarities in the post-Cold War economic paths of his native Russia and his adopted country, the United States.
Click through the following slides to preview the October issue of Research.
The New Wave of Active ETFsWhat's been hyped for three years as the next big thing in the hot ETF market, actively managed ETFs, may soon actually spark major change, when Pimco launches an ETF version of its Total Return mutual fund.
The Pimco Total Return ETF is expected to be managed by famed bond manager Bill Gross. In addition, as Jane Wollman Rusoff elaborates in this cover story, more mutual fund providers are forecast to follow Pimco in introducing actively managed ETF versions.
Rusoff talks to advisors and ETF industry leaders about this prospect and the ETF field overall. Another new development she discusses: the rise of "private label" ETFs that let advisors open a whole new distribution channel.
How a Freethinking Economist Saved Your Retirement PortfolioHow do we save for retirement? Are we rational actors, putting aside the amount we need to live comfortable lives in our later years? Or do we act irrationally, failing to account for future needs by not saving enough now?
Gerald Burstyn discusses the work of Richard Thaler, a professor at the University of Chicago's Booth School of Business, who along with other behavioral economists has influenced how we think about critical decisions about our hard-earned money. Thaler's emphasis is on "nudging" people to make better decisions, an approach known as "libertarian paternalism."
In early October at the 2011 Retirement Income Industry Association fall meeting in Boston, Research magazine is presenting Thaler with the 2011 Award for Achievement in Applied Retirement Research.
Fading SuperpowersAfter the Cold War's end, one might have expected the United States to enjoy the fruits of victory as the world's only superpower, and Russia to learn the democracy and free-market capitalism it had newly embraced. Instead, writes Global Economy columnist Alexei Bayer, "the two countries have followed a remarkably similar downward spiral."
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