Time for a Portfolio Tune-Up?

For those looking for new approaches, Roy Behren of Westchester Capital Management — which won the first Asset Manager Award in the Liquid Alternatives category — will discuss his team's approach, which focuses on merger and acquisition arbitrage.

As Envestnet noted in its analysis of the portfolio, the strategy won "due to its ability to generate strong and positive uncorrelated returns in a period where equity markets were falling and most liquid alternative indices ended in the red. Merger arbitrage was the best performing liquid alternatives strategy, and [Westchester] led its peers."

"It's a non-typical strategy for a mutual fund, because it's a hedge strategy," said Behren. The market neutral strategy — which ended 2018 up 8% — is "intended to provide absolute returns in all market environments, and that was borne out" last year, he explains. Behren sees 2019 "merger activity continuing at a rapid pace."

"Since inception [and over] the last 30 years, we've averaged about a 6-7% return a year, which doesn't sound great when you've had the equity and bond markets rally over the last eight to 10 years. But the value [of it] is … when you have market dislocations, like the one last year," according to Westchester Portfolio Manager Michael Shannon.

The June 20 discussion — which will be led by Tim Clift, chief investment strategist of Envestnet | PMC, Envestnet's Portfolio Management Consultants group — will highlight disciplined, systematic and team-based ways to produce stellar results and understand the opportunities and dangers on the horizon for the market.

Sign up now for this informative event.