With uncertainty in the air, the potential for subdued-to-negative economic growth looming, and a bleak outlook for fixed income, advisors are challenged to rethink foundational portfolio elements of investor portfolios—which means seeking out strategies that bolster the core going forward.

The ease with which retail investors can trade equity securities has risen dramatically this year. The increasing popularity of fintech trading apps like Robinhood—which allow investors to trade quickly on their smartphones—and the availability of zero trading commissions at traditional brokerage houses have made it easier for the average investor to trade equity securities. Market makers such as Citadel Securities (a division of Citadel LLC) report that retail traders now account for about one-fifth of stock market trading and as much as one-fourth of trading on the most active days.

Last month, Harin de Silva, CFA, Ph.D., Portfolio Manager for the Wells Fargo Asset Management Analytic Investors team and sub-advisor to our long/short equity strategies was one of three guests featured on the podcast, On the Trading Desk® with Brian Jacobsen. In it, he discusses how the strategy navigated the ups and downs of 2020 and how they plan on approaching the continued uncertainty for the rest of the year.

Recently, Harin de Silva, CFA, Ph.D., Portfolio Manager for the Wells Fargo Asset Management Analytic Investors team and sub-advisor to our long/short equity strategies was a guest on the podcast, On the Trading Desk® with Laurie King to talk about how traditional risk—as measured by price volatility—may be improved upon by measuring and managing environmental, social, and governance (ESG) profiles within a portfolio.

You may or may not recognize this photo; it was taken after Hurricane Michael hit Florida in October of 2018. After the storm, a picture of this house kept appearing in various news articles because it was one of the only homes still standing in the hardest hit area—Mexico Beach, Florida.