Liquid Alts; Women and Money; Growth by Design: Investment Advisor August Features—Slideshow

July 28, 2014 at 08:00 AM
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After stocks' performance the past few quarters, some investors might be tempted to stick with what looks like a good thing. However, Ben Warwick, founder and CEO of Quantitative Equity Strategies, sees three reasons they might want to diversify with some alternatives.

Despite women holding powerful positions in finance, the average female investor still reports low levels of financial literacy. Clearly it's not genetic, so what's the problem? Olivia Mellan and Sherry Christie talk to journalists Katty Kay and Claire Shipman about their new book, which tries to make sense of a persistent "confidence gap" between women and men.

This month also features the first article outlining the results of the 2014 Growth by Design study from FA Insight. Look for more articles on building firms that can grow sustainably in the coming months.

Pity the diversified investor in 2013. Who needed international equities or fixed income or real estate when the stock market only traded to the upside? Not only were domestic stocks among the best performing asset classes last year, they also boasted minimal volatility, making them the no-pain, all-gain investment.

The first six months of 2014 looked like a repeat performance. So is it time to take money off the table or press one's bets? Ben Warwick shares three reasons why it makes sense to reduce equity beta in favor of a more all-weather portfolio.

A big difference exists between simply growing and growing well. Mastering sustainable growth requires growth by design, where purposeful growth takes precedent over growth at any cost. Unmanaged growth can be potentially detrimental to firm value, while growth by design builds firm value. In addition to maximizing future owner liquidity, firms that grow by design realize immediate rewards as well.

Eliza De Pardo and Dan Inveen introduce results of the 2014 FA Insight Growth by Design study, sponsored by TD Ameritrade, in the first of four articles.

In recent years, banks, brokerage firms and fund companies have pulled out all the stops to make women more confident about money. Prompted by surveys showing women's feelings of helplessness around money management, discomfort with investing and greater risk aversion, the financial industry has sprouted women's initiatives, hosted seminars and published educational brochures by the ream. Still, women's self-reported financial literacy gap is not shrinking and may even be growing, according to research by Prudential and Financial Finesse.

Olivia Mellan and Sherry Christie speak with ABC News correspondent Claire Shipman and "BBC World News America" anchor Katty Kay about their recently published "The Confidence Code: The Science and Art of Self-Assurance—What Women Should Know" to try to get some answers.

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