Fiduciary Links: David Swensen is a Popular Source of Inspiration
Posted by Bennett Aikin on June 03, 2013
>>>On AdvisorOne last week, John Sullivan recapped a session from the FPA 2013 NorCal Conference, titled “Alternative Investing: Opportunities, Pitfalls, and an Assets Manager’s Approach." The session looked at how large endowments have found success in alternatives and the lessons advisors can take from them.
Of course, large endowments, such as Yale, enjoy significant advantages based on their size that most advisors simply can’t match. However, the story concludes with the fundamental considerations to alternatives investing that are universal, regardless of size or access:
- As with any investment, alternatives must have a purpose in the portfolio and shouldn’t be added solely for the sake of including alternatives.
- Extensive due diligence is required to sort through the many available alternatives before finding the one that is right.
Coincidentally, one of our favorite blogs, The Investment Fiduciary, also looked last week to Yale and David Swensen for lessons for advisors. Looking back at a post originally written in early 2009, during the height of the financial crisis, Michael Zhuang highlights four pieces of advice David Swensen had at the time for individual investors, including the importance of process, buying low and selling high, understanding yourself as an investor, and avoiding fees. In his re-blog, Zhuang relays the steps he took to follow that advice and notes that he had clients fully recovered from the downturn a full two years before the market recovered.
Now on to the rest of the best links from last week:
News and columns from the leading trade, consumer, and mainstream media:
- Nine months later, the SEC is ready to try again on money market reform. [InvestmentNews]
- The brief overview of the corporate RIA business model. Looks like the first in a series of overviews of RIA models [InvestmentNews]
- Will the two nominees to the SEC help get things moving? [InvestmentNews]
- New report claims that style box investment design limitations and bias for domestic equities are hurting U.S. DC plans [AdvisorOne]
- How can an advisor invest like Yale? The short answer is lots of due diligence. [AdvisorOne]
- Investment Advisor has wrapped up the extended profiles of their IA25 most influential list. There are some great names and stories there, just like last year. [AdvisorOne]
- Do the lessons of the recent burst bubbles argue for more tactical asset allocation? Are advisors prepared to deliver? Can they afford not to? All debatable. [Wealth Management]
- Considering the challenges, and the importance, of succession planning now - and not later. [FinancialPlanning]
From the organizations/associations/government/academia:
- CEFEX certifies Stone Hill Fiduciary Management, LLC of Great Neck, New York. [CEFEX]
- Join Susan Mangiero and others for a pension risk management webinar for CFOs on Tuesday, June 18 [Pension Risk Matters]
- According to the Employee Benefit Research Institute, four times more people are contributing to Roth IRAs. [NAPANet]
- FINRA foundation releases nation's state-by-state financial capability survey. [FINRA]
From the blogs:
- Ron Rhoades does a mailbag on DOL fiduciary rulemaking. [Scholarly Financial Planner]
- Even SSA representatives get the answers wrong sometimes, and disinformation can lead to clients leaving money on the table. [IN's Retirement 2.0 Blog]
- Revisiting a blog post on advice for advisors from David Swensen, written at the height of the financial crisis. [The Investment Fiduciary]
- All about understanding how options work. [All Things Financial Planning]
- Trending topics for ERISA plan sponsors. [Fiduciary News]
- 401(k) plan sponsors take note, these four steps will change the retirement lives of your employees. [Fiduciary News]
- Why a fiduciary standard helps all investors and 401(k) plan sponsors, by Barbara Roper. [Fiduciary News]
Articles your clients are reading (or should be):
- Set your sights above retirement, aim for financial independence. [The Chicago Financial Planner]
- Consider the benefits of using I bonds when saving for retirement. [USNews]
- The total amount of student loans owed by Americans now surpasses credit card balances, and they may be ruining the economy. [USNews]
Have a link we missed? Leave them in the comments section or email us at blog@fi360.com. For more of the best links during the week, make sure you follow us on Twitter.
