Heightened Volatility Requires Nimble Portfolio Management

If Jack be nimble and Jack be quick, Jack must be an institutional investor, according to the results of a new global survey of 766 institutional investment decision makers at insurers, endowments, family offices, foundations, pensions, and asset management firms. The survey was conducted by Institutional Investor, and the accompanying report,管理2021年的市场波动：2020年的机构投资者 - 以及他们所学到的，亚博赞助欧冠reveals that nimble portfolio management is one of the most important things to investors as they face the possibility of ongoing heightened volatility during 2021.

Several noteworthy traits of ETFs – liquidity, transparency, and efficiency – have contributed to growth of the funds over the years, and it seems likely those attributes will continue to be the main reasons institutional investors use ETFs. Among all respondents in the survey, 68% expect to reposition their portfolio for continued heightened volatility, in part by leveraging those core characteristics of ETFs.

速度 - 易用性和及时的资产暴露的组合 - 是使ETF使用的效率的一部分，并且它受到49％的温度¹of survey respondents who place more importance on the ability to quickly alter portfolio holdings than they did one year ago. The expectation of prolonged volatility puts a premium on liquidity, too, with 29%²调查受访者说现在比一年前更重要。交易成本 - 效率的另一个方面 - 也更重要，根据22％^3.受访者。

Mark Barnes, Head of Investment Research, Americas, at FTSE Russell, underscores the importance of speed and efficiency in volatile markets. He explains, “Investors need to monitor the underlying investment environment and be able to implement their changing allocation views rapidly and efficiently. ETFs that seek to track well-understood and transparent indexes that represent entire segments, such as the Russell 2000, or specific styles, such as the Russell 2000 Value or the Russell 2000 Growth, allow for efficient implementation because they are readily available and liquid.^4.The recent performance of U.S. small-cap stocks and current market conditions have further underscored the need for institutional investors to have access to indexes that can help them fine-tune their investments.”

在多资产策略中的ETF

今天可用的各种各样的ETF，使他们自然适应于65％的资产管理人员的多资产策略^5.谁参与了调查，许多受访者表示，他们有时会部署ETF，以补充或替代个人证券或衍生物。

资产管理公司引用使用etf的最大原因in their multi-asset strategies is the transparency of the underlying holdings (58%)^6.透明的,可能因为一个更大的趋势as become increasingly important to institutional investors. Patrick Ryan, Head of Multi-Asset Solutions at Madison Investments, regards transparency as a key to achieving the type of speed that investors desire in modern markets. “ETFs provide the critical elements needed to successfully execute our active multi-asset strategies,” he says. “Once we identify an attractive macro opportunity, ETFs possess the transparency needed for a rapid turnaround from due diligence to investment. In today’s fast changing markets, the ability to execute ideas quickly increases alpha potential and portfolio efficiency.”

随着RYAN提到的透明度，该调查中的资产管理人员包括对冲基金，还欣赏到贸易灵活性（55％），流动性（54％）和成本效率（53％），即ETF为他们的多重带来资产策略。^7.

“作为一个多资产投资者，并不总是积极管理的策略来访问我想要访问的每个资产类别，”作为调查的一部分，投资组合经理表示。“有时候ETF是获得我想要的资产类别的唯一方法，而且与流动性相结合使它们成为一个简单的选择。”

投资者如何使用衍生物的ETF

潜在帮助以低产，高值环境，机构投资者及其管理人员满足回报目标，有时会使用衍生品和杠杆来避免集中传统股票的风险。亚博赞助欧冠对冲和杠杆的组合在加强波动期间可能特别有用。

Trading over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives can be opaque and involves counterparty risk in a largely unregulated venue. Avoiding that risk is a key reason that many institutional investors use ETFs in combination with or instead of derivatives. Among respondents, 82%^8.say they already use or are considering using ETFs as a substitute for (or complement to) derivatives.

In certain cases, ETFs are useful when derivatives are completely off the table. “In some separate accounts where we’re not allowed to use derivatives and we want liquidity, we will use ETFs,” said a portfolio manager interviewed for the survey.

总体而言，快速的市场准入（63％）和流动性（62％）是受访者表示ETF在旁边或作为衍生品的替代品的替代，但超过一半（55％）引用衍生品情景的原因：该避免衍生物分析和单一交易所需的交易谈判。^9.

Derivatives and ETFs aren’t necessarily an either/or proposition for investors, and how they might use both depends on the scenario. Among survey respondents, 52% use both derivatives and ETFs for tactical adjustments to their portfolios, both during transitional periods between asset managers (48%) and when rebalancing their portfolios (33%). Interestingly, 32% of investors said they use ETFs exclusive of derivatives during transition periods.^10.

Download “Nimble Portfolio Management Evolves With Expectations of Prolonged Volatility,” the second chapter ofManaging Market Volatility in 2021: What institutional investors did in 2020 – and what they learned。