In this Episode we talk with Neil Azous founder of Rareview Capital. Rareview Capital works with advisors to help develop systematic and differentiated strategies using their goals based approach. Neil heads the firm’s investment team and oversees all portfolio and risk management activities. Neil also serves as a Portfolio Manager for the Rareview ETFs. We focused on the Rareview Systematic Equity (RSEE) and Rareview Dynamic Fixed Income (RDFI). Their unique systematic approach to investing provides investors an alternative lens on how to navigate investment markets. To learn more about the firm and the Rareview ETFs, visit rareviewcapital.com
Deeper Dive: Insights from the Full Conversation
Beyond the headline strategy, the full conversation between Brad and Neil Azous covered several additional themes worth highlighting for advisors and investors.
On Process and Philosophy
And so part of our deliverables, which we may complimentary to our investors or shareholders or prospects, is that we provide them our research. And our research focuses on three things. Idea generation, risk mitigation, and portfolio construction most importantly. And so we're trying to fill that void between economic strategy and trading of putting it all together in a process driven framework. And then being very transparent about that and filling in all the blanks regarding the questions around portfolio construction, what the market is doing, etc.
And finally, we produce our own research. Regarding my background, I'm the founder, the managing member and the chief investment officer of Rare View Capital. I had our investment team and oversee all portfolio risk management activities. And I also serve as the portfolio manager to the four Rare View ETFs that we manage. I've been fortunate enough to have worked with some great firms like Goldman Sachs, Stiles and Lovekan and Genre and UBS investment bank. And I've been trained in various capacities by some of the best minds of the industries that have pioneered various products that we use every day in the capital markets.
Market Context and Positioning
So, the investment objective is to seek a return that exceeds global developed and emerging market equity. And so, the funds benchmark would be an all-country world index. And the performance or the strategies performance is derived from four regional substratages that we believe target important sources of global equity market return. So, there are four indices, one that tracks US large gap. So, the S&P 500, one that tracks US small gap, the Russell 2000, a third one for non-developed, I'm sorry, not US developed markets such as EFA and then the final one being MSCI emerging markets.
Rare View Capital is an independent SEC Register Investment Advisor and ETF sponsor. Above all else here, we champion goals-based investment management. We believe aligning investment solutions with investment goals is really the best approach to reaching once aspirations. The idea of investing by a style box or exposure to a region or an asset class in our experience does not deliver the real world outcomes that investors seek. And that's our overarching philosophy at Rare View, Brad. In terms of where we fit in, I believe the asset management industry can be grouped into three The first one is disrupting the existing distribution framework or the electronification of investing.
Notable Insights
"The idea of investing by a style box or exposure to a region or an asset class in our experience does not deliver the real world outcomes that investors seek."
"So if we've got 10 or 11 sectors across fixed income, we will identify in our model what we think is fundamentally the cheapest one."
Key Takeaways
- Their unique systematic approach to investing provides investors an alternative lens on how to navigate investment markets.
- The conversation explores important themes in quantitative investing relevant to today's advisor landscape.
- The conversation explores important themes in income investing relevant to today's advisor landscape.
What This Means for Advisors
For financial advisors evaluating options for client portfolios, this conversation with Neil Azous highlights important considerations around fixed income. Understanding the strategy behind each fund—not just the ticker—helps advisors make more informed allocation decisions and better communicate the rationale to clients.
The themes of fixed income and quantitative investing discussed in this episode are particularly relevant in the current market environment, where advisors are increasingly looking for differentiated solutions that go beyond traditional benchmarks.
Listen to the Full Episode
This article is based on an episode of Behind the Ticker, hosted by Brad Roth, Founder and CIO of THOR Financial Technologies. For the full conversation with Neil Azous, including additional nuances and details, listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or watch on YouTube.