Page 39 - Investment Advisor September 2021

cohort groups, 360 feedback reviews and one-on-one conver- wealth management sector. It provides a one-stop portal com-
sations with thought leaders. Developers include members of prising practical resources and materials to help advisors better
BlackRock’s coaching and consulting unit of its U.S. wealth understand how private market solutions can serve their indi-
advisory business: Danielle Papandrea, the head of Affinity vidual investor clients. The site includes explainer videos,
Partners, Meredith Smith, its program leader, Tony Svach, webinars and written material curated to help advisors better
national sales manager; and Larry Kaye, the firm’s retired for- understand the array of asset classes within the private markets
mer head of learning and development. arena. It provides content for every level. In addition, the plat-
form’s flexibility allows Macquarie to create customized expe-
Charles Schwab and riences for its distribution partners and offers a one-of-a-kind,
Ariel Investments, best-in-class educational experience.
which have partnered
to produce the Black Northern Trust Asset Management
Investors Study since 1998, once again sought to understand has been on a mission to help insti-
the gaps that exist between white and Black investors in 2020. tutional investors determine why
Most recently, they also aimed to dig deeper into timely and portfolios don’t deliver a specific outcome they had in mind by
relevant areas, including the influence of the COVID-19 pan- providing analysis into the risks affecting their portfolios. The
demic on investing trends. Their latest survey yielded substan- Risk Report, based on a study of some 200 portfolios in 1,000
tive insights about disparities in retirement investing, inherited investment strategies totaling more than $200 billion for 64
wealth and trust in financial services. It also revealed optimis- institutional investors around the world, reveals six key dis-
tic data on growing engagement in the stock market by younger coveries driving unexpected results, including portfolio expo-
Black Americans. sure to uncompensated risks and the performance-hindering
“cancellation effect.” The research demonstrates to financial
Innovator Capital Management’s advisors and their clients how underlying investments can
Defined Outcome ETFs provide inadvertently cause a drag on portfolios.
investors with likely ranges of future
investment outcomes prior to invest- State Street Global Advisors, at the height of
ing. They cover a large spectrum of domestic and international the pandemic, saw a need to support advisors
equities and bonds. Innovator’s category-creating family and their clients as the market downturn and
includes Buffer, Stacker and Floor ETFs. Each Buffer ETF, subsequent volatility affected individual
including Innovator’s flagship suite of S&P 500 ETFs, seeks to households’ longer-term financial plans and
provide a defined exposure to a benchmark where the down- prompted conversations around health, wealth and financial
side buffer level, upside growth potential to a cap and outcome wellness. The firm provided access to relevant content and
period are known ahead of investing. Innovator wants to pro- resources across multiple digital channels. Webinars proved
vide advisors with behavioral tools to help clients achieve their to be the most effective medium. State Street served as sub-
goals, and help advisors build portfolios. ject matter expert at various forums, whether live, prere-
corded or via social media livestream sessions; and as trainer
iSectors’ Enhanced Allocation via SPDR’s Masterclass series, an interactive engagement for
Series models have simplified an advisors with post-session access to coursework replays and
advisor’s practice by being designed practice techniques.
to give investors and their advisors the ability to choose the
portfolio allocation that meets their objectives and risk utility
in a diversified manner. Every iSectors Enhanced Allocation PRODUCTS, PROGRAMS & SERVICES –
owns ETFs. These ETF portfolios hold between 6,000 and BROKER-DEALERS
8,000 individual stocks and bonds. The investment team man-
ages the asset allocation of each target risk model, using a blend Advisor Group, in October 2020,
of two core iSectors models and a 20% allocation to an iSectors launched its Business Coaching &
dynamic satellite model. These three allocation strategies have Consulting (BC&C) Team that
a low correlation to one another. helps advisors improve the profitability, efficiency and satisfac-
tion of their practices through a suite of programs, tailored to
Macquarie Asset Management drive growth and efficiency in a firm’s life cycle. Educational
developed the Sharpe Advisor programs offered through the BC&C team include the NxG
to fill a gap in private markets coaching and community connection track for newer advisors;
education for the retail market and advisors throughout the the Next Level Coaching curriculum for practices in the growth

SEPTEMBER 2021 INVESTMENT ADVISOR 37