Glenmede’s CEO Gordon Fowler Discusses ‘Fat Tails’

Glenmede takes a different approach in creating a risk-controlled growth portfolio. “We find it can be beneficial to run counter to the fashion of the day,” Fowler writes.

He lays out seven recommendations for investing in the current environment:

• Lighten up on Treasuries and ultra-high-quality corporate bonds in favor of stocks.
• With a lighter position in high-quality bonds, we recommend finding less-expensive risk control.
• Our secured option strategy, which shorts call options against an index of stocks, is also an appropriate risk-controlled strategy in this environment.
• Global fixed income offers a more flexible approach that adjusts to market valuation levels.
• Equity managers who focus on stock picking are due to outperform.
• High-quality junk is still attractively priced relative to other fixed income assets.
• Invest in commodities instead of gold as an inflation hedge.

Fowler concludes this discussion with a lighter coda in which he explains why his communication with investors has fallen off to once a quarter in recent years.

Glenmede is an independent investment and wealth management firm with more than $18 billion in assets under management.