Expanding the Boundaries of Fixed Income Investing by Elevating Taxes as a Crucial Element of Customization

How important are taxes in customizing a fixed income portfolio?

Custom Core® Brochure: Let’s Make Passive Investing Personal™

For the average investor, a passive allocation means an index fund. But what if your client is anything but average? What if they want something custom? Share this brochure with them to help them understand the benefits of a Custom Core SMA.

The Parametric Emerging Markets Strategy: A Third Way of Emerging Markets Investing

As investing in emerging markets becomes more popular, there are disadvantages to both active and passive investing strategies. We suggest a third way.

Extreme Weather Events: Assessing Climate Risk in the Municipal Bond Market

Now is the time for municipal bond investors to mitigate climate risk.

Decluttering Tax Management

Can tax management spark joy? Decluttering tax management and finding the most effective strategy can at least minimize stress.

Municipal Bond Market Insight

Each month we recap the muni bond market’s performance, delving into the numbers and offering forward-looking commentary. Click below for the latest edition.

China’s Regulatory Crackdown: A Cautionary Tale for Investors

How will recent regulatory shifts in China affect investment strategy? A diversified approach is the key to spread out exposure.

Corporate Bond Market Insight

Each month we recap the corporate bond market’s performance, delving into the numbers and offering forward-looking commentary. Click below for the latest edition.

What Can Investors Do About the Devastating Impact of the Pandemic on Workplace Equity?

Progress toward diversity—and disclosure—continues

Patience Is a Virtue in Portfolio Construction

Even in the fast-paced world of investing, slow and steady can win the race.

Tax Change Proposals: Six Things to Keep in Mind

Investors might wonder how the Biden administration’s ambitious proposals might affect their tax burdens. Though the answer remains unclear, these six facts should reduce anxiety.

Too Much of a Good Thing: Unwinding a Concentrated Stock Position

It may feel daunting to reduce single-stock risk, but implementing a staged diversification plan in tandem with a separately managed account makes it possible to do so tax efficiently.

Midyear Responsible Investing Update: Disclosures, Climate, and Diversity

The first half of 2021 has seen a renewed investor focus on ESG investing and disclosure.

GRAT Expectations: Why More Investors Are Turning to Grantor-Retained Annuity Trusts

Amid low interest rates and volatile asset values, high-net-worth individuals are taking a fresh look at a powerful wealth transfer tool—grantor-retained annuity trusts, or GRATs.

Midyear Bond Outlook: A Stronger Economy Supports Lower Volatility

The reopening economy hasn’t come without drawbacks—but compared with last year’s headaches, bond investors can expect a much less dramatic second half of 2021.

A Malarkey-Free Analysis of the Impact of the Biden Tax Plan on Equity Investors

Sweeping changes to the tax code in the new divided political environment are less likely—but not impossible. We look at what Joe Biden’s proposals mean for equity investors.

Parametric Responsible Investing

What's Parametric's approach to responsible investing? In this short paper we outline the ways we can help investors achieve two sets of goals.

Stars in Your Eyes: How Credit Upgrades Benefit Corporate Bond Investors

A record number of corporate bonds were downgraded to high-yield status in 2020. Will they see a turnaround along with the greater economy?

How Will Biden’s New Infrastructure Plans Affect Investors?

We now know how President Biden proposes to address America’s infrastructure woes, but do we know what that means for investors?

What Investors Should Know About ESG in Fixed Income

Aren’t all municipal bonds “responsible?” How green are green bonds, anyway? We answer common questions about applying ESG criteria to fixed income.

Unpacking Tax Management

Understanding five basic tools for building a comprehensive tax-management strategy is key to delivering highly tax-efficient investment performance.

The Time for Comprehensive, Mandatory, and Consistent Climate Risk Disclosure Is Now

Both investors and regulators agree: The world can’t wait to tackle climate change. That’s why mandatory climate reporting is vital.

Transitioning to a New Market Cycle Requires a Fresh Look at Risk

Investor anxiety is shifting from the impact of COVID-19 to the changes that may come with the removal of stimulus measures. We share three ways to prepare your portfolio.

It's Always Tax-Loss Harvesting Season

Learn how an active tax-loss management strategy ensures year-round performance, maximizes tax alpha, and minimizes costs.

Not-So-Silent Spring: Exxon and the Vote Heard Round the World

Is 2021 the year climate risk finally got real for oil and gas companies? Why two events concerning Exxon and Shell could be game changers.

Factor Investors: Three Ways Tracking Error Keeps an Investment Strategy on Course

Factor investors: Learn how tracking error is a useful tool to measure the potential risks and rewards in factor portfolios.

Roll with the Punches of Rising Interest Rates

Rising interest rates can cause performance drag. Adopting an equally weighted laddered bond portfolio structure may help investors roll with the punches without feeling the lasting effects.

Roll-Down Impact on Bond Returns

To maximize the benefit of a laddered strategy, investors should understand the impacts of a roll-down.

US Census Data Reveals Population Pressures for Investors

The US population has just seen its lowest growth rate since the Great Depression. How will this ripple throughout the economy and the markets?

Municipal Bond Premiums Explained

Muni bonds’ coupon rate often exceeds their yield, causing the price you pay to be more than the par value you get at maturity. So why buy them? This short video explains.

A Simple Guide to Tracking Error

Tracking error offers more than a simple measurement of portfolio versus benchmark performance. We explain how it should be used to establish benchmark-relative performance expectations and the differences between realized versus predicted tracking error.

School’s Always in Session: Brush Up on Your Financial Literacy

To celebrate Financial Literacy Month, our strategists share the frequently misunderstood terms all investors need to know.

Evil Twins: Commodity Prices and the Strength of the US Dollar

When the US dollar is strong, commodity prices in general tend to fall. Why? And is it true at the individual commodity level too?

Responsible Investing: What’s the Difference Between Screens and Integration?

The two key ways to incorporate ESG characteristics into a portfolio have important differences in both implementation and outcomes. Find out how these approaches can affect both performance and real-world impacts.

Tax Day: How Investors Can Have Their Cake and Eat It Too

Through an effective tax-managed investment strategy, losses can offset gains, turning a volatile year into another step toward achieving investment goals.

Adapting to a Changing Municipal Landscape

Heightened risk. Limited access. Large markups. These are just a few reasons why municipal bond investors should pursue a laddered portfolio instead of building it themselves.

Making Sense of Lower Readings on the Market’s Fear Gauge

What’s behind lower volatility forecasts: COVID-19 optimism or something more foreseeable? We take a deep dive into the numbers.

From Active to Passive: How Investors Can Transition Tax-Efficiently

More and more investors today seek passive allocations. How can they transition a portion of their active portfolios without incurring a large capital gain realization?

What Does Biden’s Infrastructure Bill Have in Store for the Muni Market?

Will a corporate tax increase shift muni demand upward? Are Build America Bonds coming back? We take a look at what the Biden administration’s infrastructure bill could mean for fixed income investors.

Are Natural Resource Stocks the Inflation Fighters Investors Want?

Owning a portfolio of natural resource stocks may seem like the easiest way to gain exposure to commodities. But is it the best way?

Tackling Climate Change Through the Municipal Bond Market

President Biden has introduced a comprehensive strategy for updating aging US infrastructure, giving investors an opportunity to focus on meaningful environmental impact.

Tax Management Strategies for Appreciated Portfolios

Many investors today hold concentrated, appreciated positions. Diversifying to help reduce risk makes sense. But is there a way to do it without triggering a large capital gain realization?

Why Has My Pension Funding Improved (and Why Hasn’t It Done Better)?

How can corporate pension plans make the most of the strong start to 2021? There are three key factors to consider.

Three Advantages of a Custom Passive SMA for the Taxable Investor

Are investors getting the best after-tax returns out of their index strategies? They may be missing out on the extra benefits of a custom passive SMA.

When the Bond Market Gives You Lemons, Make a Ladder

Current market conditions have reminded some corporate bond investors of the 2013 taper tantrum. Is that comparison fair?

Why Transitioning from Active to Passive Doesn’t Have to Be Taxing

When your active investments start to lag, should you keep your underperforming active manager or switch to an index-based ETF? Consider a third option: a tax-managed SMA.

Is Inflation Around the Corner?

Haunted by double-digit inflation of the past, some fear the US economy is poised for runaway inflation. Given how successfully the Fed has anchored expectations, that seems unlikely.

Stronger Together: What Morgan Stanley’s Acquisition of Parametric Means for Our Clients

Now that Morgan Stanley’s acquisition of Parametric is complete, our CEO looks ahead to what it means for our clients, how it will affect the company, and what it says about the industry.

Opportunities Emerge as Munis Come Back to Earth

What’s behind a big surge in municipal bond yields? We look at how muni buyers can capitalize on recent volatility.

The Common-Sense Case for Real Action on Diversity and Inclusion

Linking gender diversity to financial performance only muddles a vital conversation. Here’s what really matters when it comes to building a more inclusive world.

2021 Tax Outlook: Tax Policy Likely Takes a Back Seat to Recovery

With the narrowest Senate majority, President-elect Joe Biden won’t have much room to pursue aggressive tax reform. What should taxable investors expect this year?

What Does the Future Hold for Chinese Securities?

How will the new presidential administration change US trade policy toward China? From what we’ve seen thus far, we don’t expect anything drastic.

How to Use Customized Portfolios to Boost Yield

How far can investors go in pursuit of excess return? We share some strategies that can help—as long as the added risk isn’t too intimidating.

Is the US Equity Market Heading for a Bubble?

A crowdsourced short squeeze is dominating headlines in the investing world. What does it mean for the US equity market as a whole?

Customized SMAs: How to Make Responsible Investing Truly Personal

When an off-the-shelf solution doesn’t cut it, responsible investors can turn to customized SMAs to build portfolios that align with their values.

Municipal Bonds Win Big from Recent and Proposed Federal Stimulus

The CARES Act provided much-needed support to a municipal bond market reeling from COVID-19. What’s coming next now that the Biden administration is setting to work?

Why Customization Is the Investment Industry’s Watchword in 2021

It’s not unusual for pension plans to have a sizable mismatch to interest rates and credit spreads. How much might that mismatch hurt in 2021?

State Budgets and Crises: Notes for the Municipal Bond Investor

Between press headlines and political rhetoric, it’s easy for fixed income investors to get into a panic over state budgets. Find out why it’s better to remain calm.

Is an SMA Better Than an ETF?

For most investors seeking broad market exposure, an ETF does the trick. But ETFs are one-size-fits-all. This video explains why an SMA may be a better option for investors who want greater control and flexibility.

Three Ways to Maximize Tax Benefits Through Charitable Giving

Different approaches to charitable giving can yield very different after-tax results for investors. Which approach is best for your clients?

2021 Responsible Investing Outlook: Three ESG Themes to Watch

Climate risk, diversity and inclusion, modern slavery: Three topics came to the fore in 2020 and figure to animate ESG investors in the New Year. Here’s why.

How Family Offices Are Coping in a Dramatic 2020

Wealthy investors have faced an unprecedented crisis this year—and so have the professionals who manage their money. But they’re not sitting on the sidelines.

2021 Bond Outlook: Will an Uneven Recovery Make Credit Research Even More Important?

After a year we’re all happy to put behind us, what’s in store for corporate and municipal credit in 2021? And how much stimulus will make it to struggling cities and states?