With concerns about a double dip recession rising and economic data showing waxing and waning recovery indicators, many investors are running toward the safety of bonds and bond funds. Covestor model managers understand that bonds and conservative exchange traded funds (ETFs) can offer less risk during downward economic slopes and can provide helpful hedges in a diversified portfolio. Here are just a few of the Covestor managers adopting this lower-risk strategy.
Navellier: A registered investment advisor, Navellier manages close to $3 billion in assets with over 60 years of combined investing experience. Their AllWeather Premium model on Covestor aims to protect investor’s assets during down markets. One of their most conservative positions, iShares Barclays 7-10 Year Treasury Bond Fund (IEF), mirrors the performance of Barclays Capital U.S. 7-10 Year Treasury Bond Index which tracks the performance of a group of Treasury Bonds backed by the U.S. Government.
Braver Wealth: Braver Wealth Management is a registered investment advisor with more than $400 million in assets under management. Their Tactical Asset Program model offers a balanced portfolio with the goal of capital preservation. One of the top positions in the model, iShares Barclays Aggregate Bond Fund (AGG), invests 90 percent of its assets in bonds of the broad-based Barclays Capital U.S. Aggregate index.
Kevin Shine: Registered investment advisor Kevin Shine has a Masters in Finance from Fairfield University and believes that investment allocations should be rule-based and utilize simple logic. His Asset Allocation model is diversified and focuses on maximizing risk-adjusted returns. In his model you will find iShares Barclays MBS Bond Fund (MBB), which attempts to replicate the performance of Barclays Capital U.S. MBS index. Barclays Capital U.S. MBS index provides a measure of the performance of investment grade mortgage-backed securities issued by GNMA, FNMA and FHLMC.
Vivian Lewis: Harvard University and University of California Berkley graduate Vivian Lewis is a former finance journalist and current editor of Global-Investing, which was rated by Hulbert Financial Digest as the second best performing U.S. newsletter of the last decade. Her model, International Yield, has a targeted yield of 5%. With the Templeton Emerging Markets Income Fund (TEI), her model takes advantage of the bonds issued by sovereign entities and private sector companies of emerging market countries.
