Toronto-based adviser taking advantage of rally to sell high-flying stocks and buy more of his favorite bond ETFs and DFA funds.

 

Mike Bayer considers himself a contrarian investor.

In the past few months, as stock markets soared, that sort of go-against-the-grain approach has taken center stage.

The Toronto, Canada-based adviser and president of Strategic Analysis Capital Management says he prefers to buy exchange-traded funds and mutual funds from Dimensional Fund Advisors when they’re out of favor.

“The problem most investors have is that they tend to trade too frequently and make changes in the wrong direction. They’re buying high and selling low,” said Bayer, who works with individual and institutional clients in Canada and the United States.

Since early March, SACM has been taking advantage of the rally in stocks to rebalance client portfolios. Bayer has been trimming positions in the Vanguard Emerging Markets Stock ETF (NYSE: VWO).

“Emerging markets have had a big run-up in

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Five more SRI-themed ETFs are proposed, each focusing on specific religions and different sets of beliefs.

 

The market for socially responsible investing continues to grow for exchange-traded funds investors. Now, a group based in Oklahoma City, Okla., is proposing a set of faith-specific ETFs to launch in the near future.

FaithShares Inc., which is advised by FaithShares Advisors, is asking the Securities and Exchange Commission for approval to offer five new SRI-themed ETFs. Those would be:

The FaithShares Baptist Values Fund The FaithShares Catholic Values Fund The FaithShares Christian Values Fund The FaithShares Lutheran Values Fund The FaithShares Methodist Values Fund

So far, just two SRI ETFs are available on the market, both sponsored by Barclays Global Investors. Those are the iShares KLD 400 Social Index (NYSE: DSI) and the iShares KLD Select Social Index (NYSE: KLD). The first came out in 2005, and the second at the end of 2006. Combined, both have more

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Instead of unloading small-cap and value stocks, portfolio manager is sticking to his guns. But he's shifting into TIPS and away from Treasuries.

 

Tim Courtney admits that financial markets do tend to break down from time to time.

A prime example, says the Oklahoma City, Okla.-based portfolio manager, is what's going on today in markets across the globe.

"But markets have proven to be efficient enough over the longer-term to dissuade us from trying to time a recovery or squeeze any possible excess losses by using individual stocks," said the chief investment officer for Burns Advisory Group, which is headquartered in Oklahoma but has offices in California and Connecticut as well.

Courtney used to work with large institutional investors at Fidelity Investments on developing retirement plans and asset allocation requirements. He joined John Burns, who started the business and serves as its chief executive, in 1997.

These days, Courtney is

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Portfolio manager says those who've kept a level head in rough times should be well-positioned now to take advantage of attractive valuations. 

Kenneth Smith has been spending a lot of time lately trying to make sure that market volatility doesn't send investors into a tail spin.

As a result, the chief investment officer at Seattle-based Empirical Wealth Management says that the high net-worth and institutional clients he works with aren't ready to panic yet.  

But he credits such realistic expectations to not only this year's educational push. Smith explains that he has been sounding a similar theme when markets were running strong from 2003 through late last year. The difference, he says, is that during bull markets the message has been to not chase asset classes that are performing well. 

Now, conditions are different. But the veteran advisor and portfolio managers says keeping a level head and remaining unemotional as market volatility remains high

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Analyst turned passive advisor seeing market turmoil spurring interest in low-cost investing. 

 

The value of disciplined, low-cost and highly diversified investing is really paying dividends for Lorne Abramson these days.

Despite turbulent times in the markets, the Burlingame, Calif.-based portfolio manager says he's finding his high net worth and institutional clients "shaken but not stirred."

"They're not jumping ship. And actually, we're seeing a lot more unhappy investors questioning their advisors' active strategies contacting us," said Abramson.

Along with his wife, Elana Lieberman, he runs ELM Advisors near San Francisco. Both are staunch supporters of passive asset-class investing. And each started in finance as stock analysts at institutional research and money management shops. Abramson primarily covered banking stocks at SKBA Capital Management, while Lieberman tracked insurance companies at Sanford C. Bernstein.

"We both saw from the inside how hard it is to add value over indexes," Abramson said.

Nobel prize-winner

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