BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Natixis Global Asset Management (NGAM) today officially unveiled its new Durable Portfolio ConstructionSM platform to help individual investors, financial advisors and institutional investors worldwide address growing concerns about risk and market volatility in global markets. The NGAM Durable Portfolio Construction platform focuses on portfolio construction and analytics to help investors manage volatility and enhance the diversification of their portfolios.
“The new realities of today’s markets are a global concern, and investors worldwide are anxious about risk and volatility,” said John T. Hailer, president and chief executive officer, Natixis Global Asset Management – The Americas & Asia. “No financial market, no country, no investor, is immune from economic and market turmoil. Faced with a prolonged period of volatility and uncertainty, it’s time to start building more durable portfolios. Investors need solutions that help them meet their return objectives and minimize risk in both up and down markets, allowing them to stay focused on their long-term goals.”
The Durable Portfolio Construction platform recognizes that investors wish to combine a desire for returns with a renewed emphasis on seeking protection of their assets, which rests on the ability to generate sufficient returns at appropriate levels of risk in all market conditions. The NGAM platform makes risk the primary consideration for asset allocation and is intended to help investors minimize the impact of extreme market movements, make smarter use of traditional asset classes, add exposure to alternative investments, and employ non-correlated investment techniques such as hedging and long/short strategies.
The result of extensive testing, preparation and the combined experience of NGAM and its more than 20 investment affiliates, the Durable Portfolio Construction platform builds on the capabilities of NGAM’s research, educational programs and tools to help advisors and their clients navigate market volatility. Key elements of the new platform include the following:
1. Expansion of the NGAM Portfolio Research and Consulting (PRC) Group – Led by industry veterans Matthew Coldren, executive vice president, Client Solutions Group, and Marina Gross, senior vice president, Portfolio Research and Consulting, NGAM has expanded the PRC team through the hiring of additional experienced portfolio consultants and analysts to broaden an already deep bench of investment professionals. The team assists NGAM clients in evaluating risk, allocation and diversification through a consultative program that features sophisticated portfolio diagnosis and tailored asset allocation.
The PRC Group initiative, successfully piloted with a select group of financial advisors in the United States, offers advisors tools to inform, validate and advance their approach and decision-making around asset allocation. The analysis incorporates an in-depth portfolio evaluation designed to measure overall risk and examine its use, contribution and trade-offs in the portfolio. In order to be impartial, the team does not make specific product recommendations. The program is completely agnostic with regard to products offered by NGAM and its investment affiliates.
2. Launch of the NGAM Durable Portfolio Construction Research Center – NGAM is expanding the breadth of research content available to advisors through its new NGAM Durable Portfolio Construction Research Center, which generates research on asset allocation, risk management and other issues. The center builds upon continuing NGAM research initiatives in the United States and the United Kingdom, including its Client Insights Research Program, and will include new studies of financial advisors and institutional investors to gauge current sentiment on issues affecting markets and their impact on investors.
In order to assist in the center’s research, NGAM has established advisory panels composed of leading financial advisors and representatives from NGAM affiliates to provide valuable insights and actionable recommendations that will be shared with advisors and investors around the globe through channels such as the Natixis Advisor Academy.
3. First-Ever Global Durable Portfolio Construction Symposiums – Over the coming year, NGAM will sponsor a series of Global Durable Portfolio Construction Symposiums. Meetings are planned for Rome (May 16, 2012), Madrid (June 19, 2012), London and several U.S. locations. The symposiums will feature industry leaders, investment managers and highly respected subject matter experts offering insights into markets worldwide.
“We believe that, collectively, these highly-focused initiatives provide institutional investors, financial advisors and their clients with the information and support they need to build durable portfolios, stay invested and achieve their long-term goals,” added Hailer. “These initiatives help them to build and maintain investment portfolios that can withstand the test of time.”
More information about Durable Portfolio Construction is available at www.ngam.natixis.com.
About Natixis Global Asset Management, S.A.
Natixis Global Asset Management, S.A. is one of the 15 largest asset managers in the world based on assets under management.1 Its affiliated asset management companies provide investment products that seek to enhance and protect the wealth and retirement assets of both institutional and individual investor clients. Its proprietary distribution network helps package and deliver its affiliates’ products around the world. Natixis Global Asset Management, S.A. brings together the expertise of multiple specialized investment managers based in Europe, the United States and Asia to offer a wide spectrum of equity, fixed-income and alternative investment strategies.
Headquartered in Paris and Boston, Natixis Global Asset Management, S.A. has assets under management totaling $706 billion (€544 billion) as of December 31, 2011. Natixis Global Asset Management, S.A. is part of Natixis. Listed on the Paris Stock Exchange, Natixis is a subsidiary of BPCE, the second-largest banking group in France. Natixis Global Asset Management, S.A.’s affiliated investment management firms and distribution and service groups include Absolute Asia Asset Management; AEW Capital Management; AEW Europe; AlphaSimplex Group; Aurora Investment Management; Capital Growth Management; Caspian Capital Management; Darius Capital Partners; Gateway Investment Advisers; H2O Asset Management; Hansberger Global Investors; Harris Associates; IDFC Asset Management Company; Loomis, Sayles & Company; Natixis Asset Management; Natixis Multimanager; Ossiam; Reich & Tang Asset Management; Snyder Capital Management; and Vaughan Nelson Investment Management.
1 Cerulli Quantitative Update: Global Markets 2011, based on December 31, 2010 AUM of $713 billion.
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