Marquette Quoted on Multi-Asset Products

January 15, 2016

On January 5, Kelli Schrade, director of manager research, was quoted in a FundFire article on the growth of multi-asset products in institutional portfolios. Kelli cautioned that many products labeled as ‘multi-asset’ may actually be just rebranded stock-bond strategies. She also noted the importance of fiduciary education: “Given the disappointing returns in U.S. equities last year and low prospects for bonds in the coming year, there’s definitely curiosity and that’s where education comes in – will these help portfolios or is this a marketing gimmick that will fizzle?”

Kelli added that, to improve returns, institutional investors are considering these products to include asset classes where separate allocations might not make sense: “It can be one-stop shopping for many investors. It can give them some exposure to asset classes they wouldn’t have dedicated allocations to. For example, if the product has hedging or includes commodities they might not be willing to have a dedicated allocation to that but they might be willing to put it in the hands of a manager to include in a multi-asset product.”

To read the article, visit the FundFire website (subscription required).