John Davi of Astoria Portfolio Advisors - Managing Investment Risks through ETFs

When it comes to building an investment portfolio, it's important to have a diversified mix of assets in order to reduce risk. While there are a number of different options to choose from, Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) can be an attractive choice for investors looking to add some diversity.  How can ETFs be a low-risk option for diversifying portfolios and why might they be a good option for you? In this episode, Rusty and Robyn talk with John Davi, Founder, CEO, and Chief Investment Officer of Astoria Portfolio Advisors, an investment management firm that specializes in research-driven, cross-asset, ETF, and thematic equity portfolio construction. John Davi is an award-winning research strategist and has more than 20 years of experience in macro ETF strategy, quantitative research, and portfolio construction. Prior to founding Astoria, he was the head of Morgan Stanley’s Institutional ETF Content and advised many of the world’s largest hedge funds and asset managers on ETF portfolio construction. John is a regular contributor to CNBC, Bloomberg, and other media outlets. He was recognized by Bloomberg as an “ETF Master Chef”. John talks with Rusty and Robyn about what makes ETFs attractive as investment vehicles, how his company addresses inflation, and how he uses social media to engage with his audience. Key Takeaways [02:18] - The story behind John's walk-up song. [03:33] - What led John to start his own company. [05:04] - What makes ETFs attractive as investment vehicles. [09:16] - Why some people think direct indexing could kill ETFs. [11:31] - John's market outlook for 2022. [14:30] - The key differences to look for in 2022. [16:06] - How John and his team plan to tackle inflation. [19:08] - How ETF PPI came about. [22:13] - John's recommendation on how to allocate equity using PPI. [24:35] - John’s perspective on traditional fixed income and how he uses it. [28:05] - How John uses social media platforms to reach his audience. [29:51] - What qualifies someone to become a member of John’s team. [31:21] - What makes a good investment manager. [32:05] - What makes a good financial advisor. [34:10] - John's investment strategy for himself and for his family. [36:40] - What John does to stay at the top of his game. Quotes [05:26] - "Over time, ETFs proved that they're tax-efficient, they're liquid. You can build a portfolio and you can basically replicate any risk-return profile that you want." - John Davi [18:34] - "What we're seeing now in terms of inflation and all the crosscurrents between COVID is just something that we haven't seen in a long period of time. So, you want to have a strategy for inflation and then you want to embrace it. And you want to look for sectors that benefit from higher inflation. Don't be scared of it, try to embrace it and build a portfolio that can actually benefit from it." - John Davi [20:13] - "Different asset classes perform at different stages of the inflation cycle. So cyclical stocks tend to be early, commodities tend to be a little bit later. So, we think that there's value in all three of those asset classes, but you want to tilt more toward the four sectors - banks, energy, materials, and industrials." - John Davi  Links  John Davi on LinkedIn John Davi on Twitter Astoria Portfolio Advisors Sailing by Christopher Cross Morgan Stanley Merrill Lynch VanEck Matthew Santini State Street Global Advisors Access Investments CNBC Bloomberg Bob Pisani Bridgewater Vanguard Warren Buffet Orangetheory Fitness Connect with our hosts Rusty Vanneman Robyn Murray Subscribe and stay in touch Apple Podcasts Spotify Google Podcasts 0244-OPS-2/8/2022