LifeStageInvesting.com Featured in Barron’s

Congratulations to our client LifeStageInvesting.com, who was featured in the “Reboot? RoboAdvisor…” article on page 23 of this week’s Barron’s!  LifeStageInvesting.com has used our research to power their proprietary ETF Model Portfolios for the last 2 years. We thought we would mention a few things that we think make them so special – yes, toot our client’s horn a bit.......

For those unfamiliar with this unique platform, LifeStageInvesting.com is definitely not your ordinary RoboAdvisor. For starters, while the platform is used by many self-directed investors, their primary audience is mostly comprised of Financial Advisors. These Advisors use LifeStage to determine appropriate asset allocations based on specific life stage needs and then mirror those allocations to our ETF Model Portfolios. The result is a highly efficient, turn-key solution that works for the FA and the client.

While the burgeoning Millennial cohort precipitated the advent of the RoboAdvisor, the appeal of LifeStageInvesting reaches well beyond this singular profile. By addressing broader life cycle investment needs, LifeStageInvesting.com appeals to investors of all demographic profiles including Millennials, Retirees and all in between.

Here’s what we think is the biggest distinction – Investment Research. LifeStageInvesting.com provides comprehensive supporting research for its clients.  While this may seem trivial to some, we have not found one other RoboAdvisor that provides research on the underlying positions of their recommended  portfolios!  We also believe that we know why – because so many of the RoboAdvisors deploy selection processes that rely simply on expense ratios or other one-dimensional factors, it causes a problem. Specifically, that any sound investment research would find fault with some selections derived by such a method and therefore conflict with many of their portfolio selections.  Hence, the absence of investment research and a large piece of the value that LifeStageInvesting.com provides.

Oh and last but not least, it’s Free! – that’s right, in order to foster initial adoption and further the development of the platform, the site is open to all visitors. Now that said, there are future plans for enterprises to license and customize the platform for their specific users but nonetheless the site is open to the public and is available for all Investors and Advisors – so have at it - LifeStageInvesting.com !

Thank you for reading ETF Global Perspectives!

_____________________________________________________________

Assumptions, opinions and estimates constitute our judgment as of the date of this material and are subject to change without notice.  ETF Global LLC (“ETFG”) and its affiliates and any third-party providers, as well as their directors, officers, shareholders, employees or agents (collectively ETFG Parties) do not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, adequacy or timeliness of any information, including ratings and rankings and are not responsible for errors and omissions or for the results obtained from the use of such information and ETFG Parties shall have no liability for any errors, omissions, or interruptions therein, regardless of the cause, or for the results obtained from the use of such information. ETFG PARTIES DISCLAIM ANY AND ALL EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, SUITABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR USE.  In no event shall ETFG Parties be liable to any party for any direct, indirect, incidental, exemplary, compensatory, punitive, special or consequential damages, costs, expenses, legal fees, or losses (including, without limitation, lost income or lost profits and opportunity costs) in connection with any use of the information contained in this document even if advised of the possibility of such damages.

ETFG ratings and rankings are statements of opinion as of the date they are expressed and not statements of fact or recommendations to purchase, hold, or sell any securities or to make any investment decisions. ETFG ratings and rankings should not be relied on when making any investment or other business decision.  ETFG’s opinions and analyses do not address the suitability of any security.  ETFG does not act as a fiduciary or an investment advisor.  While ETFG has obtained information from sources they believe to be reliable, ETFG does not perform an audit or undertake any duty of due diligence or independent verification of any information it receives.

This material is not intended as an offer or solicitation for the purchase or sale of any security or other financial instrument. Securities, financial instruments or strategies mentioned herein may not be suitable for all investors.  Any opinions expressed herein are given in good faith, are subject to change without notice, and are only correct as of the stated date of their issue.  Prices, values, or income from any securities or investments mentioned in this report may fall against the interests of the investor and the investor may get back less than the amount invested.  Where an investment is described as being likely to yield income, please note that the amount of income that the investor will receive from such an investment may fluctuate.  Where an investment or security is denominated in a different currency to the investor's currency of reference, changes in rates of exchange may have an adverse effect on the value, price or income of or from that investment to the investor.