Investing isn’t just about growing wealth and creating financial plans to help people get on track and reach their goals. A human touch is needed. A well-constructed strategy must align with a client’s goals that could be as near term as a few months out or as distant as a retirement aspiration. 

Everywhere in between, the advisor must consider all possible tools at their disposal. Traditionally, stock and bonds — and funds containing those two asset classes —  have gotten investors to where they want to go. Today, however, diversification is harder to come by with both equities and Treasuries moving in lockstep. What’s more, the myriad of alternative investments available can be overwhelming. 

The Latest Protective Investing Tool

Structured Note SMAs now available through Halo support a traditional allocation while offering diversification through defined-outcome strategies. From the client’s perspective, seeing one slice of the portfolio protected during sharp bear markets or earning significantly above-market yields during rough patches helps mitigate the risk of losing hope in the long-term plan. Halo is excited to introduce three Structured Note SMAs designed to meet the needs of a variety of investor risk profiles. Through partnerships with reputable asset managers, retail clients can now access strategies once reserved for only the very wealthiest investors. 

Customizing Portfolios Using the SMA Marketplace

In a world where financial planning is becoming increasingly personalized, advisors constantly seek innovative ways to provide tailored solutions to their clients. Structured Note SMAs offer a compelling avenue to meet these industry demands. Here’s how advisors can benefit from this client-centric method to wealth management:

• Top-Tier Investment Management

Structured Note SMAs grant individuals and families access to expert strategies by experienced teams of asset managers. Halo pursued this approach in light of the reality that today’s busy wealth manager does not always have time to pick and choose the ideal note for each of their clients. Through harnessing the capabilities of established industry practitioners, wealth management clients benefit from an SMA’s clear objective. These specialists possess deep expertise not only in fixed income and derivatives trading but also in the intricacies of bond and options pricing. 

• Targeted Solutions

Personalization means meeting clients where they are, not moving them into some broad allocation. Advisors who have partnered with Halo can still utilize our Structured Note Marketplace, and the Structured Note SMA Marketplace currently features three strategies: Yield, Growth, and Targeted Return. Each of these can augment an existing portfolio. Over time, as life stages transition, it might be appropriate to swap one SMA strategy for another. Just as a financial plan is a living, breathing document, personalized solutions, such as the SMAs, should be reassessed.

• Complete Life-Cycle Management — More Client One-On-One Time

In the real world, it’s difficult to personalize the client’s investment experience when the lead advisor is running back and forth between meetings and operational tasks. While a promise to deliver superior service based on the client’s circumstances might begin the relationship, work sometimes gets in the way, resulting in a loss of that human touch mentioned at the onset. The client is the ultimate winner when an advisor saves time and remains focused — whether that is through streamlining existing services or by calling on the help of Structured Note managers. Less time placing trades, handling notes that have been called or those maturing, and rebalancing affords more time to ensure customized planning solutions are being delivered. For clients, this means a hassle-free investment experience without the need to delve into addressing mechanical trading questions or encountering the opportunity cost of cash accumulating.

A New Defined-Outcome Vehicle

Halo continues to reimagine how Structured Notes are used, so financial plans are tailored to each investor. Let’s dig into the three strategies currently offered through the Structured Note SMA Marketplace and how each can be used to reduce a portfolio’s overall risk level with a degree of downside protection.

• Income

A personalized income strategy can target a precise yield to meet a retiree’s spending needs. The Piton Structured High Yield Income SMA’s objective is to produce a consistently high income from exposure to leading companies across sectors.

• Growth

Clients can take a more aggressive stance with The Invictus Collective Power Growth Strategy. Those with a higher risk tolerance may benefit from this SMA’s outcome-driven process that aims to outperform across market cycles along with its embedded downside protection.

• Total Return

Investors with a balanced set of risk and return objectives might bypass the traditional 60/40 portfolio and go with the NewEdge Wealth Structured Note Advisory Portfolio (SNAP). The SNAP strategy combines fixed-return and growth-oriented notes, combining the advantages of both types.

The Bottom Line

Clients often prefer the simple over the complex. Halo’s new Structured Note SMA Marketplace offers advisors the opportunity to further personalize investment portfolios. Choice, transparency, ease of use, and customization are just a handful of what the three SMAs can offer retail investors. In the end, technology is coupled with expert management, and the end client is the beneficiary.

An investment in Structured Notes may not be suitable for all investors. These investments involve substantial risks. The appropriateness of a particular investment or strategy will depend on an investor’s individual circumstances and objectives.

Please see our Halo Disclosure Page for important disclosures.