From the Consultants’ Desk: Investment Portfolio Construction Trends at Midyear

By Mark J. Cintolo, CFA®, CAIA® - Kevin McCullough, CFA®

US Exceptionalism, Value, Shorter Duration, and Unicorns Among Allocation Trends in 2022

With continued volatility, high inflation and interest rate hikes as a challenging backdrop, asset allocation moves along with performance and risk levels in portfolios during the first half of 2022 are explored.

Natixis Investment Managers Solutions portfolio consultants evaluate model portfolios submitted by wealth managers and institutional clients. From the Consultants' Desk highlights allocation trends and observations derived from portfolios analyzed during the most recent quarter.

Investment portfolio consultants Kevin McCullough and Mark Cintolo discuss macro and market trends that influenced asset allocation shifts in advisor and institutional portfolios.
  • Challenging market conditions during the first half of the year offered few opportunities for asset allocators. A few alternative categories did provide diversification.
  • There is evidence that the equity market may be shifting from fear of inflation to fear of decelerating growth and recession.
  • In fixed income, inflation and rising rates are still the primary drivers, but the worst may finally be behind us.
  • Higher interest rates led to gains in funded status for US corporate defined benefit plans.
  • Institutional investors continued to see slight fee reductions across actively managed US and non-US large capitalization equity categories.
CFA® and Chartered Financial Analyst® are registered trademarks owned by the CFA Institute.

This material is provided for informational purposes only and should not be construed as investment advice. There can be no assurance that developments will transpire as forecasted. Actual results may vary. The views and opinions expressed may change based on market and other conditions.

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