Traditional asset allocation has long served as the main way investors manage risk. They spread money across stocks, bonds, and other assets and count on historical correlations to provide diversification. Yet in today’s highly concentrated market, this approach by itself is often not enough. Modern Portfolio Theory tells us that broad diversification reduces unsystematic (idiosyncratic)…
Even “identical” buffered ETFs can deliver dramatically different results due to nothing more than the luck of their reset dates. FJUL and FAUG are two adjacent monthly slices within the popular First Trust BUFR laddered ETF. Both offer the same 10% buffer width, the same cap methodology, and the same 12-month outcome period. They are…
While growing up in the investments industry at Russell Investments, I was privileged to participate in an excellence-driven and strong research culture. George Russell, the visionary who built a transformational company, often quoted various business thinkers to inspire the hundreds of Russell associates to innovate and help transform our industry. At our annual company meetings,…
Sometimes taking a very long-term view, describing the core “nature” or “essence” of the market’s behavior, can help put more recent experiences in context. That is precisely the point of this inaugural “Investment Perspectives” piece from Ogard Capital Markets Research, LLC. Below is a daily logarithmic return chart for the S&P 500 Index starting in…
On April 14, 2025, AQR Capital Management’s Daniel Villalon appeared on Bloomberg TV and labeled buffered ETFs, such as the FT Vest Laddered Buffer ETF (BUFR) and Innovator Laddered Allocation Power Buffer ETF (BUFF), as an “investment failure.” Watch it here: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2025-04-14/buffer-etfs-an-investment-failure-aqr-video AQR’s critique claims these options-powered funds underperform simpler alternatives, fail to mitigate drawdowns…
The exchange-traded fund (ETF) landscape has evolved dramatically over the past decade, with one of the most exciting innovations being the rise of buffered ETFs—also known as defined outcome ETFs. These funds, which use options strategies to provide downside protection while capping upside potential, have surged in popularity, growing from a niche concept in 2018…
BufferLABS Response to AQR Blog Post: “Rebuffed: A Closer Look at Options-Based Strategies” Dated March 21, 2025 – Cliff Asness and Daniel Villalon https://www.aqr.com/Insights/Perspectives/Rebuffed-A-Closer-Look-at-Options-Based-Strategies As a new research publisher and participant in the buffered ETF ecosystem, BufferLABS aims to shed light on these hedging instruments using data and facts—nothing more, nothing less. So, we read…
BufferLABS’ Goal is to deliver maximum value-added to our customers for a fair price. In setting our prices, we wanted to have offerings that could economically meet the needs of advisors across the spectrum: from small practices to large practices. Our tiered pricing provides just that: a way for advisors of almost any size to…
