Managing Risk: Consistency Over Uncertainty
A calculated approach to risk management allows investment objectives to be met regardless of the conditions. Managing risk is one of the most important portfolio management objectives. Risk is simply the possibility that an outcome will differ from what is expected or hoped for. “Investment risk is like the wind on top of a mountain,” says Caleb Silsby, […]
Exceptional Returns With Hybrid Investing
Whittier Trust’s internal investment team selectively partners with outside managers to yield higher returns. We call it our hybrid architecture. Our clients call it the best of both worlds. Internal + External Investing The investments we make on behalf of our clients fall into two categories: those our internal investment team manages directly and those we allocate […]
Market Insights – First Quarter 2025
Shifting Gears In The Economic Cycle The U.S. economy has now remained resilient to the massive post-pandemic inflation shock for well over two years. As a result, the economic outlook has changed dramatically from the inflation peak in June 2022. We trace this progression to assess where we stand now and what lies ahead. The […]
Getting Started in Private Market Investment
Investor interest in private markets has surged over the past decade. To understand why, it’s essential to grasp what these investments entail and the factors driving their growth. Here, we offer insights into the complexities and benefits of private market investments and outline Whittier Trust‘s distinctive approach. Demystifying Private Market Alternatives Private market alternatives might sound exotic, but they’re […]
Navigating a Challenging Landscape: Key Considerations for UHNWIs Amid Interest Rate Cuts
In September 2024 we saw a Fed interest rate cut of 0.5 percentage points and another rate cut of 0.25 in November. Now, as we start 2025, The Fed is considering additional rate cuts. For ultra-high-net-worth individuals (UHNWIs), shifts in interest rates carry significant implications for wealth management strategies. Lower interest rates—though more elevated than in prior cycles—can influence everything from […]
Identifying the Key Traits of Market Disruptors
Typically, in portfolio asset allocation, the concept of diversification is deemed beneficial to avoid stock-specific risk. There have been many academic studies supporting this concept. Although diversification makes sense from a “risk-return” perspective, to have robust performance and beat benchmarks consistently, investors should find stocks that they are willing to hold in a sufficient portfolio weight that […]
Market Insights – Fourth Quarter 2024
How Heavy is the U.S. Debt Burden? The last several months have seen a steady drumbeat of data to validate both declining inflation and a slowing economy. CPI inflation for June posted a significant milestone with its first negative monthly print since the depths of the pandemic in Q2 2020. The remarkable deceleration of inflation […]
Nasdaq Weekly Guest Spotlight: Sandip Bhagat
Whittier Trust Chief Investment Officer, Sandip Bhagat, was recently featured in the Nasdaq Trade Talks Weekly Guest Spotlight. His professional insights and analysis of the current state of the U.S. Market were provided in an Interview format: Coming into this year, there was speculation of a potential recession. Why do you think the economy has been […]
Market Insights – Third Quarter 2024
The Big Central Bank Dilemma The U.S. economy and capital markets continued to surprise investors through the first half of 2024. The year began with high hopes that the rapid disinflation of 2023 would continue in an orderly and uninterrupted manner. This in turn spurred optimism that the Fed would be able to cut rates […]
Keys for Maximizing After-Tax Returns: 4 Strategic Elements for Income Generation
In a world full of financial uncertainties, tax-sensitivity is one aspect of investing that you can control. At Whittier Trust, we have been laser-focused on after-tax returns—the dollars you keep—since the early 1980s. That focus has become a key differentiator and one of the many reasons clients tend to stay with Whittier from one generation to the […]