Managing for Absolute Returns in a Tightening Monetary Environment

The popularity of passive management in recent years has been buoyed by low cost and relative ease of use. Further, the tailwind provided by quantitative easing has seen passively managed funds perform quite strongly relative to actively managed alternatives. However, we are now moving into a period of tightening, both through increases in the Federal Funds target rate as well reduction of the Federal Reserve's balance sheet. The path forward for fixed income investors is much more challenging, and investors should be open to considering other options. During the presentation, Eddy Vataru, a portfolio manager who has experience across the investing spectrum including passive, active and absolute return at Barclays Global Investors and Blackrock, as well as absolute return at Citadel and Incapture, will evaluate the pros and con of these various investment strategies. Additionally, he will discuss the pros and cons of both quantitative and fundamental investment disciplines based on his experience in these investment arenas as well as provide insights on core fixed income strategies and their potential underappreciated risks. Finally, he will share his outlook for the investment grade fixed income market and how he is positioning and protecting portfolios in a generally upwardly biased interest rate envirornment.