Investment strategies

CEO Larry Fink announced a new focus on ESG in January, however the coronavirus has pushed a separate set of urgent issues into the forefront.

“People are just saying, ‘Why should I pay for an active manager when most of them lose to the benchmark anyway?’ This is a big deal,” an expert says.

The fund ditched its tail-risk protection weeks before the coronavirus sent stocks into a tailspin, according to people familiar with its decision.

The smart-beta pioneer and sub-advisor to money managers has re-calibrated its forecasts after the coronavirus-induced crash reshaped markets.

Even when the market was climbing to records earlier this year, John Miller’s risk appetite exceeded that of some of his peers.

Proponents have long touted the new structure as a way for the industry to compete with mutual funds.

With fewer people investing in active strategies and more options to choose from, competition is extremely fierce.

Turning loss into profit in down markets can seem like magic to some clients.

“The data that the market typically relies on is too slow to keep up with how rapidly the situation has been changing," says Richard Bernstein Advisors' deputy CIO.

Emulating traditional advisors, digital advisors are moving in the direction of planning offerings and advisor-client contact (albeit virtual).