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Policy owners must avoid projecting today's economic environment forward for an extended period, causing them to choose products that lock in long-term mortality and interest rates. Such a move not only virtually ensures long-term underperformance but also sacrifices the flexibility necessary to take advantage of conditions as they change.

In light of the current environment, it is easy to lose sight of the proven policyholder protections that the life insurance industry continues to provide, including regulatory and third-party oversight, as well as mechanisms to support policyholders of troubled companies.

Difficult financial times are likely to continue, affecting all aspects of the economy and the markets, but the high-quality subsector of the municipal market is not at risk for significant defaults or losses. Debt burdens are relatively light, and annual required payments are often senior to most other budget items.

The commercial real estate market in New York, San Francisco and Washington may have become overbought in the past year, but wealthy investors can still find attractive opportunities for capital appreciation via direct investment in second-tier markets such as Seattle, Austin and Dallas.

Managed futures are one of the oldest and most established alternative investments, yet many investors are unfamiliar with the strategy's performance traits. A fresh look at the strategy's past performance reveals its tendency toward controlled downside risk, with an asymmetric tendency toward upside performance.

Researchers examine 50 years of historical S&P 500 Index data and compare the actual tail risk frequency and magnitude to the expectations of a typical investor operating under modern portfolio theory. The difference between the two is surprising, and it suggests that investors have significantly underestimated tail risk frequency and severity.

A well designed absolute return portfolio should not encounter the frequency or magnitude of declines associated with volatile growth portfolios. The absence of large losses is the hidden strength of the approach, acting as a strong suppressant to investors' inherent fear biases, which, in turn, allows for a more consistent compounding of wealth over time.

As the investment landscape continues to evolve and become more complex, investors can utilize pooled funds to maintain control of key asset allocation decisions while capturing the benefits of a highly diversified, well-constructed, lower-cost portfolio of complementary strategies.

Research shows investment managers are far too willing to incur a large negative tax alpha for taxable clients while pursuing a pretax alpha. The result is that most investment management products offer a combined alpha that is negative: pretax alpha, whether good or bad, less a relentlessly negative tax alpha.

Master limited partnerships represent a niche asset class that is gaining attention for its attractive yield potential, historically low correlation to other asset classes, and potential tax benefits. Strong industry fundamentals, attractive valuations, and above-average dividend yields provide a compelling entry point for investors looking at MLPs.