While the holiday shopping season corresponds to shopping, holiday parties and festivities, it can also be a good time for financial advisors to locate good investment opportunities for their clients. It also includes investment strategies like investment opportunities and the famed Santa Claus Rally.

Watch the Zephyr webinar presented by "The Quest for Wealth: 6 Steps for Making Mindful Money Choices" author James R. Langabeer, PhD.

There will continue to be discussions about which presidential party is better for financial markets for the remainder of time, but history shows those discussions are irrelevant. The performance of financial markets, particularly equities, doesn’t hinge on who is sitting in the oval office, but rather on the health of the economy and corporate earnings.

When trying to position your client’s investment portfolios for a rate cutting cycle, it’s important to ask yourself: “why is the Fed cutting rates?” rather than just focusing on the cuts themselves.

Your clients are demanding you provide them with personalized investments that align with their unique views, morals and investment objectives. Cookie-cutter, one-size fits all strategies no longer work. So, searching for and matching the appropriate managers to meet those unique objectives is more important than ever.

Being able to tell your investment strategy story concisely and with integrity, making sure the messaging matches the investment processes and performance is vital for asset managers, not least because clients demand and expect it.

Being able to tell your investment and strategy story concisely and with integrity, making sure the messaging matches the investment processes and performance is vital for asset managers.

With equity volatility falling and equities performing well during the quarter, it's a good time to see how actively managed separately managed accounts (SMA) fared against their passively managed counterparts during the quarter.

During periods of market volatility, advisors should be asking themselves: how can we assure clients that we have their best interests at heart and are providing value they cannot get elsewhere? And when a client’s situation has changed, we should ask: how can we best navigate these conditions and still come out meeting the objectives?

The proposal is the first true touch point an advisor might have with a prospect and is the time to shine and demonstrate the value they can bring. So, it’s critical that advisors have a toolkit and strategy to highlight their strengths.

Women are going to control the majority financial assets by 2030, which makes it important for financial advisors to understand how women's investment objectives differ from men in order to capitalize on the changing demographics. Offering SMAs, which provide enhanced transparency, control and flexibility to better align your clients’ investment objectives to their values and beliefs is one way financial advisors can help women achieve their investment objectives.

As we make our way through 2024, it’s a good time to revisit our favorite risk statistics that will help advisors locate managers who optimize return per unit of risk and do a good job of preserving the hard-earned gains since the pandemic drawdown.

Over the years Dave Ramsey has become a household name by helping thousands and thousands of households get out of debt and achieve financial freedom. However, Ramsey has made waves recently with his bold statements that investors should be earning a 12% annual return, while withdrawing 8% annually from their investments. By leveraging a wealth management software application like Zephyr you can see how reasonable these proclamations are and if they are right for your clients.

While mutual funds and ETFs continue to grow in market share, SMAs are gaining in popularity due to their unique benefits and changing trends within the wealth management space which can enhance the client experience.

Synergy between traditional asset and wealth management services and financial technology are redefining the way they approach management of private wealth capital, carrying out family investment management and more. Fintech partnerships have emerged as not only a compelling tool for managers but are propelling the evolution of financial planning and investment management to a global stage.

Zephyr, a platform for investment professionals is paving the way for the future as a powerful portfolio reporting and financial analysis tool. Zephyr’s unique features, encompassed within a single platform, offers not only a solidified and celebrated asset allocation software and portfolio analysis tool, but also offers aspects of customer relationship management systems directly catered toward wealth professionals.

The emergence of robo-advisors in the wealth management industry has become a formidable force, reshaping traditional approaches to portfolio management and financial planning. As technology advances, the financial industry is witnessing a shift toward automated financial solutions. Utilizing a portfolio management software, like Zephyr, wealth management can be expanded upon and simplified, despite rising competition with autonomous financial advisor software.

Recent global events have had a profound impact on financial markets globally. By utilizing a wealth management platform, and leveraging the wealth tech industry, asset managers and financial advisors can bring high returns to their clients, even in times of high instability.

With the lower volatility and strong equity market performance during the first part of the year it’s a good time to look at how actively managed separately managed accounts (SMAs) fared against their passively managed counterparts during the quarter.

A portfolio manager plays a crucial role in financial portfolio management. Leveraging a portfolio analysis tool, or wealth management platform elevates managers to a new echelon of service to their clients. Using Zephyr’s award-winning wealth management platform capabilities, managers can provide the most tailored financial management solution to clients.

Performance calculation and reporting marks the end of the wealth management life cycle. Assessing, planning, research, and implementing/trading all come before, so all the data that goes into these steps is vital to create an accurate and efficient performance calculation for you to review and report on. If that data is misleading, incomplete or just wrong, so too will the performance numbers. The old adage is “Garbage In - Garbage Out” and its very relevant here.

Unless you have been living on a remote island with no access to the outside world, which sounds pretty fantastic right now, you have probably heard or read about the ongoing debt ceiling standoff that has taken over Washington.

The Fed’s actions and words have been driving market performance since the peak of the pandemic and that is likely to continue. While traders are forecasting no changes to interest rates during the June FOMC meeting, traders are beginning to place bets on two more rate hikes this year (July and September) as economic data stabilizes. This uncertainty regarding future monetary policies makes it important for financial advisors to focus on creating diversified investment portfolios that align with their client’s risk tolerances and investment objectives.

Despite the growing concerns and uncertainties, the S&P 500 index posted a +7.50% return during the quarter, which corresponds to the fall in volatility. With the lower volatility and strong equity market performance, let’s take a look at how actively managed mutual funds fared against their passively managed counterparts during the quarter.

The much anticipated 25-year Great Wealth Transfer may be stalled as the Great Resignation has begun hitting the economy this year, affecting companies’ ability to effectively build out their workforce. 2020 marked a predominant increase in Baby Boomers retiring, more than twice the number of the previous year.

In 2007, Buffett again reiterated “moats” in Berkshire Hathaway’s annual letter to shareholders, “A truly great business must have an enduring ‘moat’ that protects excellent Returns on Invested Capital.”

Every business relationship is subjected to an ongoing examination of value. Nowhere is that more profound than in financial services, where the interaction between the client and financial advisor is centered around touchpoints and trust-building exercises; whether in-person events or frequency of conversation.

Investors are faced with a growing list of concerns and unknowns, as market risks and uncertainties continue to grow. Investors are wrestling with the health of the banking sector, uncertainty about how high the Federal Reserve will raise rates or will they cut this year, increasing geo-political risks, and a slowing economy. When looking for investments during this period of heightened uncertainty there are some investment risk metrics that should be considered.

With the popularity of SMAs trending upward it is important to know how to find and conduct continued due diligence on SMAs. Below we outline some of the key steps when searching for top SMAs based on quantitative and qualitative characteristics within the Zephyr Investment Management Software platform.

During long bull markets, most portfolio managers have appealing investment performance, so it’s important to peel away the layers and dissect the performance into smaller periods to uncover trends or periods of underperformance, which may expose a manager who doesn’t fare well during market downturns, and one that takes large bets which sometimes pay off and sometimes do not.

Alternative investments can provide multiple benefits to all types of investors regardless of the market or monetary cycle. Alternatives can also provide enhanced portfolio diversification, which can help soften the blow in case of a market correction.

Diversification has come under the microscope during times of crisis like the Great Financial Crisis and the Pandemic lockdown. Portfolios that were traditionally considered diversified could not withstand the global reach of the crisis and protections failed when they were needed most. Furthermore, the baseline 60/40 portfolio has come under scrutiny due to the ending of the fixed income bull market which has also coincided with the steep equity market sell-off. The dual sell-off in both fixed income and equities has reinforced the notion that to increase portfolio diversification one should consider including alternative investments.

With real estate investments being more accessible than ever before, it’s time for you to consider incorporating real estate investment trusts into your client portfolios. Let’s take an in-depth look at REITs: types of REITs, benefits, risks and more.

Zephyr Financial Solutions stands out as a leader of innovation in the fintech industry, offering a comprehensive financial services software tailored for the discerning needs of financial professionals. With a focus on analysts, financial advisors, wealth managers, and asset managers, Zephyr is revolutionizing the way financial services are delivered and managed.