23. How To Achieve Objective Index Ratings and Forecasts with Laurence Black from The Index Standard®



How do you, as an advisor or investment professional, select the best products for your clients?

Have you thought about what makes clients believe that you are always looking out for their best interest?

In this episode, Laurence Black takes a deep dive into everything The Index Standard® is about and how it can help you strengthen your client services. 

Laurence highlights how his organization provides advisor-related unbiased index ratings and forecasts and breaks down how these elements act as resources to support client investment decisions according to their individual goals.

Laurence discusses:

  • Why he created The Index Standard®
  • Benefits of a diverse portfolio that goes beyond the S&P 500
  • Using risk control as a mechanism to deliver stable returns and lower drawdowns
  • Three methods the firm uses to deliver acceptable indices to advisors and their clients 
  • Why Laurence refers to their services as “approachable finance”
  • Best practices for advisors looking to choose and understand indices for their clients 
  • And more!

Resources:

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About our Guest:

Laurence Black is the founder of The Index Standard® and an index advisor to Robert J. Shiller, Sterling Professor of Economics at Yale University.

Before founding The Index Standard®, Laurence was Managing Director and Head of Quantitative Indices and Strategies at Barclays, where he oversaw the development of the Barclays index family. In addition to designing some of the first smart beta/factor indices, Laurence spearheaded Barclays’ index partnerships with Professors Robert Shiller and Nouriel Roubini, as well as Novus Partners.

Before Barclays, Laurence was Head of Indices at ABN AMRO in London and worked at Lehman Brothers, Deutsche Bank, and Credit Suisse.