Continuing care retirement communities (CCRC) and senior housing facilities have historically been a sought-after category by institutional investors, who are often attracted to this credit sector because of its higher yield. Yield aside, investing in the senior living sector is supported by positive demographic fundamentals that should expand opportunities in this sector.

 

CCRCs fall within a broader category of municipal bonds called private activity bonds (PABs). Local and state governments issue PABs on behalf of private users — in this case mainly developers and operators of CCRCs — to meet the housing needs of their older residents. In a similar fashion, a municipality might issue school bonds, which also support a certain segment of the overall population.

 

The overall size of the CCRC market is still relatively small ($5 billion of issuance in 2018), but it’s doubled in size over the past decade.1 As a percentage of total new...

Kris: The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) made the decision to cut the fed funds rate by another 25 basis points in late October. And since then, language across Fed governors has become uniformly more constructive on the state of the economy. But because broad economic data continues to be mediocre at best, it appears that the Fed is putting a lot of weight on a trade deal coming through. Tell us, Ed, what do you think are the key takeaways from the rate cut?

Ed: For the entire year, we’ve seen the FOMC try to get comfortable with easing rates in response to an environment of weakening growth and very little inflation. Two things stood out to me as quite notable with their last decision. First, rather than stressing the downside risks to growth and inflation, their outlook is more balanced — so they've cut this time with a view of remaining on hold for the foreseeable future. And second, there’s a view that rates are now appropriately accommodative, which...

So for advisors seeking quality index construction, we’ve integrated our proprietary quantitative research to deliver RECS and REVS: two ETFs that aim to remove the bottom performers of the Russell 1000® Index (RECS) and Russell 1000® Value Index (REVS).

Whether or not you’re nearing retirement, you may be thinking about where your income will come from after the paychecks end. Many people rely on a workplace retirement plan, such as a 401(k), for a big part of their retirement income. In fact, more than half of U.S. workers are counting on it to be their major source of income, according to the Employee Benefit Research Institute’s 29th Annual Retirement Confidence Survey.

PETE SANTORO: In the past, when people thought about dividend income investing, they were looking at a couple sectors — for example, utilities or consumer staples — because that’s where most of the dividend growth could be found. But as capital allocation policies throughout the market have evolved, we’ve seen opportunity in all sectors. Now, investors can build a more diversified portfolio because they can find income and income growth outside of core interest-rate sensitive sectors.

Working through generational differences can be challenging, but it's important when building a strong team and understanding your client base. Learn about each generation's strengths and how embracing generational diversity can help grow your business.

Investors earn a yield premium, or spread, for assuming risk. In the current environment, the yield premium is generally lower and investors are being compensated less for investing in bonds with more risk. This is a change from the end of 2018 when yield premiums were more attractive. Agency mortgage-backed securities are a notable exception to this trend. There’s a favorable risk/ reward profile in agency MBS — the yield premium is at levels that haven’t been seen since the financial crisis. It’s important to remember that individuals can pre-pay their mortgages if interest rates drop materially. And portfolio managers need to consider what the market anticipates for prepayments.

MIKE BARCLAY: There are some obvious categories: for example, investors who are close to or in retirement and want their money to last through retirement. But even for younger investors, I’d say this is a way to have equity exposure with relatively low risk. Equity income takes a long-term approach to investing in the markets —including staying invested through down markets. So we’d argue that it should be a core part of every investor’s portfolio — and they could use either higher beta or more risky strategies as satellites to capture upside in strong up markets.

Continuing care retirement communities (CCRC) and senior housing facilities have historically been a sought-after category by institutional investors, who are often attracted to this credit sector because of its higher yield. Yield aside, investing in the senior living sector is supported by positive demographic fundamentals that should expand opportunities in this sector.

 

CCRCs fall within a broader category of municipal bonds called private activity bonds (PABs). Local and state governments issue PABs on behalf of private users — in this case mainly developers and operators of CCRCs — to meet the housing needs of their older residents. In a similar fashion, a municipality might issue school bonds, which also support a certain segment of the overall population.

 

The overall size of the CCRC market is still relatively small ($5 billion of issuance in 2018), but it’s doubled in size over the past decade.1 As a percentage of total new...

It’s been more than a decade into the recovery that followed the Great Recession of 2008-2009. And many commentators and market participants believe that we’re in the late stages of the economic cycle that began as the crisis started to recede. To be clear, I’m not offering any predictions about the timing of the next downturn or the outlook for global growth. But as financial markets watch for early indications of change on the horizon, one conclusion is inescapable: the economic environment in 2019 still bears the imprint of the events that unfolded in 2008-2009. Far from breaking free of its effects, the global economy continues to be powerfully influenced by factors that either contributed to, or resulted directly from, the Great Recession.

Joe Brusuelas, Chief Economist at RSM, an audit and advisory firm, was quoted in the Washington Post last September, saying, “[The Great Recession] was such a shock to the economic system that it unleashed dynamics that we still...

So for advisors seeking quality index construction, we’ve integrated our proprietary quantitative research to deliver RECS and REVS: two ETFs that aim to remove the bottom performers of the Russell 1000® Index (RECS) and Russell 1000® Value Index (REVS).

PETE SANTORO: In the past, when people thought about dividend income investing, they were looking at a couple sectors — for example, utilities or consumer staples — because that’s where most of the dividend growth could be found. But as capital allocation policies throughout the market have evolved, we’ve seen opportunity in all sectors. Now, investors can build a more diversified portfolio because they can find income and income growth outside of core interest-rate sensitive sectors.

Whether or not you’re nearing retirement, you may be thinking about where your income will come from after the paychecks end. Many people rely on a workplace retirement plan, such as a 401(k), for a big part of their retirement income. In fact, more than half of U.S. workers are counting on it to be their major source of income, according to the Employee Benefit Research Institute’s 29th Annual Retirement Confidence Survey.

MIKE BARCLAY: There are some obvious categories: for example, investors who are close to or in retirement and want their money to last through retirement. But even for younger investors, I’d say this is a way to have equity exposure with relatively low risk. Equity income takes a long-term approach to investing in the markets —including staying invested through down markets. So we’d argue that it should be a core part of every investor’s portfolio — and they could use either higher beta or more risky strategies as satellites to capture upside in strong up markets.

To complete your registration, please select and answer your security questions and accept the Terms & Conditions.

Security questions may be used to verify your identity in the future. Choose questions and answers you will remember.

Upward momentum of overall equity supports higher stock exposures. Readings from our economic clock are weak relative to one year ago, but they are slowly improving. We see fewer catalysts for a correction going into the quiet portion of the year — so we’re positioned for a neutral equity weight despite the economic risks. Treasuries no longer appear to have a clear trend in either direction. We saw a steady rise in yields until the fourth quarter of 2018, followed by a sharp pullback going into the summer of 2019. We are back to a world of rangebound yields relative to current levels. Overall, it feels appropriate to have neutral policy-level allocations to duration. Non-directional strategies — such as absolute return — present compelling opportunities. This is particularly true because we’re cautious on equities and don’t want to add to duration. We also believe commodities will do relatively well based on idiosyncratic risks for commodity markets that are...

Continuing care retirement communities (CCRC) and senior housing facilities have historically been a sought-after category by institutional investors, who are often attracted to this credit sector because of its higher yield. Yield aside, investing in the senior living sector is supported by positive demographic fundamentals that should expand opportunities in this sector.

 

CCRCs fall within a broader category of municipal bonds called private activity bonds (PABs). Local and state governments issue PABs on behalf of private users — in this case mainly developers and operators of CCRCs — to meet the housing needs of their older residents. In a similar fashion, a municipality might issue school bonds, which also support a certain segment of the overall population.

 

The overall size of the CCRC market is still relatively small ($5 billion of issuance in 2018), but it’s doubled in size over the past decade.1 As a percentage of total new...

Working through generational differences can be challenging, but it's important when building a strong team and understanding your client base. Learn about each generation's strengths and how embracing generational diversity can help grow your business.