Treasury doubles long-dated buybacks as 30-year yield hits 19-year high
The doubling buys a reprieve; the supply picture keeps long-duration risk high.
August 19
The Portfolio Desk 19 stories this week · 104 total
The fee-disclosure lesson in the SEC's pre-IPO fund case
The complaint's 46% average markup is what 'no upfront fee' can look like in a pre-IPO fund sold to retail clients.
Bonds' newfound unpopularity is an active manager's opening
A Financial Planning essay argues the 2022 correlation break and higher yields make a second look at fixed income worthwhile.
Index funds reach 42% of average advisor portfolio, Fidelity says
The second-quarter Portfolio Insights report shows a twelve-point jump in index fund allocations and ETF expense ratios falling to 43 basis points.
Fidelity launches custom SMA advisor learning series
The first installment gives advisors language to explain custom SMA benefits and the risks that come with them.
Fidelity's alts curriculum primes advisors for the private-market push
A CE-accredited program gives advisors the language to place private-market positions in client portfolios without hiding the risks.
Fidelity's allocation team calls the Q2 rebound a caution on valuations
The recovery broadened and AI capital spending powered earnings, but the team says historically high prices leave little room for error.
Fidelity's sector outlook favors three groups, flags energy valuations
The quarterly update gives advisors a defensible sector list and a warning on energy, then leaves the arithmetic to them.
Hightower: AI capex is structural
Hightower's 2026 outlook argues the AI buildout is real, funded, and still early — and hands advisors the numbers to make the case to clients.
LPL publishes a money market fund guide for the client cash question
The guide's risk disclosures make it a useful handout for the client cash question.
Fidelity argues fund picking is a skill, not a cost center
Fidelity's manager research unit says disciplined fund selection adds value. Its new paper gives no numbers to back it up.
LPL's CD guide turns cash into a deliberate allocation
A fixed-rate, fixed-term primer that gives advisors client-ready language for CDs as a portfolio position.
Morningstar's CRSP rebrand leaves advisors with a naming cleanup
Firms with CRSP-labeled benchmarks now have to scrub the old name from client reports, model templates, and IPS documents.
Price the hidden costs of a zero-fee IRA before the rollover
PensionBee's new analysis turns a $107,000 balance into a due-diligence checklist.
Vanguard's customizable models test the low-cost promise
Advisors get a way to tailor models for client-specific constraints. The low-cost structure holds only if the customization stays bounded.
Cerulli sees advisers' private-market assets nearly doubling
A projected $2 trillion increase puts interval funds, model portfolios, and fee tradeoffs at the heart of RIA allocation.
A missed after-tax election costs 40 percent unless caught early
EPCRS prices a skipped after-tax election at 40 percent of the missed amount; a plan can dodge the charge by opening a nine-month make-up window.
One in eight active large-cap funds beats the index over a decade
A one-in-eight decade-long win rate demands a written thesis for every active large-cap sleeve.
Active's losing decade turns advice into the product
Morningstar's scoreboard gives advisors a defensible reason to sell planning and tax work instead of fund picks.
Custodian's checking overhaul leaves clients with unequal cash protections
Advisors need to map which guarantee sits behind each cash balance as a Westlake, Texas custodian keeps the savings from an investor checking revamp.
Franklin Templeton packages private markets into model portfolios
A single-subscription wrapper brings Franklin Templeton's private-markets models into the standard advisory workflow. The tax treatment will determine whether the SMA-style label holds up.
Fund launches test advisors on the wrapper and its fees
A round of ETF and alts launches puts wrapper structure and fee disclosure at the center of advisor due diligence.
ETF glut passes the stock count, forcing a stricter screen
Four new funds arrive every business day. Advisors running model portfolios need a screening process that runs on a schedule.
Vanguard opens four model portfolios to outside fund choices
RIAs can now replace Vanguard funds with outside managers in four of its model portfolios, with Orion, Black Diamond and Vestmark doing the overlay work.