Positioning for a Steady State Economy: A Conversation with Lewis Stocks from WestEnd Advisors

In this episode, we are pleased to be joined by first time guest Phil McInnis, Chief Investment Strategist at Avantis Investors. Phil shares research on why investors should stay the course during periods of market volatility like what we recently witnessed following the trade tariff announcements on April 2 "Liberation Day." He reminds listeners the importance of maintaining a strategic mindset when investing in risky assets, such as equities, as the inherent risks are the reasons why stocks outperform bonds and cash over the long run. We also discuss their research into additional market risk premiums that have historically rewarded investors with higher returns such as value and cash flow profitability. 

In this episode, we are rejoined by Wes Crill, Senior Investment Director at Dimensional Fund Advisors to discuss the latest performance challenges for the Fama/French factor premium framework, namely small cap value within the U.S. market. Wes provides context for these performance challenges, especially in light of positive performance of the premiums outside the U.S. and for investors to stick with the premiums over the long run.

In this episode we are pleased to be joined by Jay Jacobs, Head of Thematic and Active ETFs at BlackRock, as we explore the firm's 2025 outlook for thematic investing. Key topics include opportunities driven by a lower interest rate environment, a renewed focus on improving U.S. physical infrastructure for transportation and manufacturing, and the buildout of artificial intelligence capabilities. We’ll also cover essential factors to consider when incorporating thematic exposure into your portfolio.

In this episode, we are joined by Massimo Santicchia, Co-Founder of Alpha Quant specializing in systematically-managed portfolios using a quantitative approach. We discuss the current environment where U.S. large caps have handily outperformed small caps over the last decade and why the environment is shaping up to favor small caps over large caps. We also discuss why one should be more selective with respect to fundamental characteristics when building a small cap portfolio.

In this episode, we are pleased to be joined by Chad Farrington, Co-Head Municipal Bond Investment Strategy at DWS Asset Management. Chad provides an update on the federal tax-exempt bond market, which includes issuers spanning state and local municipalities to public use facilities such as mass transit, airports, and toll roads. We also discuss the interest rate environment in light of Federal Reserve policy and the upcoming federal elections. 

In this episode, we are rejoined by Taylor Lukof, CEO and Founder of ABR Dynamic Funds, to discuss the spike in market volatility catalyzed by the Bank of Japan's decision to raise interest rates that precipitated a sharp unwinding of Japanese yen-funded risk positioning. Taylor mentions how difficult it was for both professional and retail volatility traders to navigate around both the spike in market volatility as well as its quick reversion back to low levels. What happened in August is but another reminder of the challenges for do-it-yourself traders trying to positioning themselves to take a directional view on market volatility.

In this episode, we discuss the current market environment with Brian Weisenberger, Senior Market Strategist at Kensington Asset Management. Brian shares how Kensington assesses the equity and fixed income markets through a systematic lens. Although the current environment remains conducive for risk-on positioning across equities and fixed income, he does highlight some potential pockets of turbulence and why investors should incorporate some tactical strategies to navigate through this turbulence. 

In this episode, we are joined by John Davi, founder of Astoria Portfolio Advisors. Following three years of John consistently and accurately forecasting inflation would persist, he now shares his revised outlook for the current challenging environment and actionable recommendations for investors. We believe this interview will help advisors to navigate between slowing growth and elevated inflation. Astoria studies economic and business cycles and emphasizes diversification across asset classes and investment styles but favors higher quality segments of the market as long as interest rates remain elevated.

In this episode, we hear about growth opportunities outside the U.S. market, which has been dominated by U.S. technology firms, primarily those investing in generative artificial intelligence. Shane Duffy, Lead Portfolio Manager for J.P. Morgan's International Equity Growth strategy, identifies growth opportunities overseas, not just in technology but in other economic segments across industrials and consumer discretionary.

In this episode, we are joined by Lewis Stocks, portfolio specialist with WestEnd Advisors, who specializes in managing strategies built around the economic cycle. Lewis shares the firm's outlook on the U.S. and international landscape and how they are positioned for a slow but steady phase of the economic cycle with an emphasis on U.S. sector positioning.