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Investors have shown renewed interest in President Biden's twin infrastructure proposals—the American Jobs Plan and the American Families Plan—and what they will mean for their portfolios. With a focus on the tax changes that more directly affect equity investors, the road ahead should have fewer dangerous curves than some initially feared.

The perceived benefits of put options as a tool to protect against equity drawdowns are often outweighed by their complexity, implementation, and ongoing costs (both economic and behavioral). Investors are better served by adjusting a portfolio’s asset allocation. For those investors who must pursue a tail-risk hedge, a list of potential pitfalls and solutions is provided in the form of a case study.

When the artist Beeple sold a digital work of art for $69 million, it caught the world’s attention especially because that one-of-a-kind digital art was a non-fungible token (NFT). In this episode, we’re taking a look at this emerging blockchain technology and exploring how NFTs are transforming digital artwork. What We Discussed in This Episode:

Commodity investors have historically recognized a link between the strength of the U.S. dollar and the prices of commodities. Specifically, as the dollar strengthens against other major currencies, commodity prices generally tend to fall, and vice versa. A further examination is provided on why this may be the case, and whether it’s true at the individual commodity level as well as across all commodities, and what it ultimately means for investors.

Private equity has been an established asset class for institutional and private investors for well over two decades. The potential for outsize returns and exposure to the most exciting and innovative companies continues to drive investors toward the asset class.

We are currently experiencing one of the longest periods of U.S. dollar strength in the last 50 years, leading some to question if it’s time for a reversal. Learn what drives the dollar and how it impacts various asset classes and influence portfolio positioning.

When it comes to an investment strategy, it is important to consider the tracking error (TE) as it allows investors to quickly get a sense of how much deviation from a stated benchmark they could expect. This guide offers a brief explanation of the TE concept and descibes how it can be used to establish benchmark-relative performance expectations, and concludes with some statistical detail and common misconceptions. We'll also discuss the differences between realized and predicted TE.

Investors have been building bond portfolios using a laddered strategy since the early 1900s. Even in a flat or rising rate environment, a ladder’s total return can materially exceed its starting yield through the phenomenon of roll-down. The benefits of roll-down relate directly to the shape of the yield curve. To demonstrate how roll-down works, a few intuitive examples are provided.

When in the pursuit of enhanced risk-adjusted returns, investors with strong convictions are often drawn to factor investing—tilting portfolios toward a particular factor like value, low volatility, or dividend yield. While it may seem counterintuitive, a factor portfolio’s tracking error is a useful tool for ensuring they’re not taking on too much risk or unintended exposure in an attempt to generate benchmark-beating returns.

Investor anxiety is shifting from the impact of COVID-19 to the changes that may come with the removal of stimulus measures. Investors can make the transition to a new market cycle by managing their risks. Three examples, including taking advantage of dislocations, are provided to help investors prepare their portfolios.