Finance

The ready-made strategies have been around for years, but in an era of fee wars and ETFs its popularity is exploding.

Market recovery has made the risk of missing out more pronounced this year, forcing many funds to position themselves towards historically bullish levels.

It’s the latest dramatic twist in the story of USO, which was at the center of the storm as crude prices plunged earlier this year.

Clients opened almost 1.2 million retail accounts, boosting flows to mutual funds and ETFs, the firm reports.

While stimulus talks have stalled, better-than-feared economic data and corporate earnings have instilled optimism that a recovery is taking shape.

The aggregator thinks it’s found a sweet spot sharing revenues with firms it acquires, says CEO Bob Oros.

Innovator ETFs, an asset manager, will debut its so-called buffer funds at a time when Treasury yields are hovering near historic lows and duration risk climbs.

“If you decide to make the portfolio more conservative, make sure you have a plan — an exact plan — on when to come back,” an expert says.

The alternative asset manager said it has $77 billion in cash, securities and other available capital, including uncalled capital commitments from clients.