February 23, 2021
The debt market is a vast sea that investors often can’t simply navigate on their own. Novice bond investors can get complete exposure via ETFs like the
IUSB seeks to track the investment results of the Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Universal Index. The fund generally will invest most of its assets in the component securities of the index and may also invest in certain futures, options and swap contracts, cash and cash equivalents, including shares of money market funds advised by BFA or its affiliates, as well as in securities not included in the underlying index, but which BFA believes will help the fund track the underlying index.
February 18, 2021
Bonds are integral components in any retirement portfolio. Corporate bonds can carry higher yields than domestic government debt.
When it comes to corporate bonds, passive index-based strategies are often the way to go for retirees. Consider the
USIG follows the ICE BofAML US Corporate Index and holds nearly 6,800 bonds, giving it one of the deepest benches in the investment-grade corporate bond fund category.
“Exchange-traded funds tracking indexes that are representative of the broad investment-grade corporate bond market are a solid option for exposure to this asset class,” writes Morningstar analyst Neal Kosciulek. “Portfolios that mimic the contours of this opportunity set and boast low fees have been difficult for active managers to beat. Over the 10 years through June 2020, just 40% of actively managed funds in the corporate bond Morningstar Category managed to survive and outperform the average of their passive peers.”
February 17, 2021
Capital keeps on flowing into emerging markets as more investors embrace a growing risk-on sentiment. These flows are helping core EM funds like the
IEMG seeks to track the investment results of the MSCI Emerging Markets Investable Market Index. The index is designed to measure large-, mid-, and small-cap equity market performance in the global emerging markets.
“The iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (IEMG) is the younger, cheaper variation on BlackRock’s flagship iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (EEM),” the fund’s ETF Database profile noted. “IEMG debuted in 2012 as part of the new ultra-low-cost iShares Core series, which was designed to attract buy-and-hold investors.”
Investment Week is hosting its Alternatives Briefing at a pivotal time for investors as they start to position for the recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic, although risks remain.
During this interactive briefing, we will hear from a number of alternatives managers about their response to the extraordinary events of the past year and their outlook for the rest of the year and beyond.
The managers will identify where they are seeing the biggest opportunities and risks at the moment for their portfolios and explain the role their strategies could play in helping diversify client portfolios.
Attendees will also get the chance to network with peers, quiz our speakers, as well as benefit from CPD points.