Research

At Mason, our research is conducted on an internal and independent basis. In coordination with our full Mason Investment Committee and the Investment Subcommittee, our Director of Research leads a team of analysts who assist on all aspects of our private client and institutional research.

Our research is centered around our focus on asset allocation, manager selection, spending policy and sustainable withdrawal studies, portfolio rebalancing methodology and other portfolio management issues. We conduct ongoing studies and research on many topics for your consideration. In this section of our website, we highlight some of our studies and papers.

Manager Interview with Vanguard

Tom Pudner, Director of Research, interviews Joe Davis and Ian Kresnak from Vanguard. Mr. Davis is Vanguard’s Global Chief Economist and the Global Head of Vanguard’s Investment Strategy Group and Mr. Kresnak is Mr. Davis’s Chief of Staff. In this video they discuss their outlook for value versus growth equities and other topics.

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Discussion of Current Tax Proposals and Their Potential Impact on Estate Planning – Video

In this video presentation, Katherine Fincher, Director of Financial Planning, and Derek Higgins, Senior Financial Planner, discuss the current legislative proposals impacting estate planning today as well as how some planning techniques may be affected by the pending legislation.

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Manager Interview with PIMCO – Videos for Mason Clients

Tom Pudner, Director of Research, and Allie Gormier, a Managing Director from our Institutional Division, interview Anmol Sinha and Alex Petrone from PIMCO.

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Manager Interview with PIMCO – Video Excerpt for Prospective Clients

Tom Pudner, Director of Research, and Allie Gormier, a Managing Director from our Institutional Division, interview Anmol Sinha and Alex Petrone from PIMCO.

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Manager Interview with Dodge and Cox – Video

Tom Pudner, Director of Research, interviews Bert Bangayan from Dodge and Cox. In this interview, they discuss the oil and energy industry and Mr. Bangayan discusses Dodge and Cox’s views on why energy stocks may be poised for gains.

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Manager Interview with Dimensional Fund Advisors – Video

Tom Pudner, Mason’s Director of Research, interviewed Apollo Lupescu, Ph. D., from Dimensional Fund Advisors. In this video, they discuss value versus growth investments and Dr. Lupecsu provides some intriguing research on this topic.

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Manager Interview with T. Rowe Price – Video

Tom Pudner, Mason’s Director of Research, interviewed a US Equity Specialist from T. Rowe Price. Their conversation covers a wide variety of topics including what has transpired in this year’s markets and from a US Equity Specialist’s perspective, how investments might perform going forward.

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Asset Allocation and Diversification – Video

Scott George, Mason’s Chief Investment Officer, and Tom Pudner, Mason’s Director of Research discuss some of Mason’s recent research on asset allocation and the importance of diversification.

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CARES Act – Video

Mason Financial Planners, Katherine Fincher and Randon Tagg, discuss the COVID-19 pandemic related 2020 CARES Act.

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Market Drawdowns and Recoveries – Video

Scott George, Mason’s Chief Investment Officer, and Tom Pudner, Mason’s Director of Research discuss market drawdowns and recoveries in reference to the COVID-19 market volatility.

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Are Hedge Funds and Private Equity Necessary for Your Portfolio? The Answer May Surprise You.

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Are Hedge Funds and Private Equity Right for You?

Mason Investment Advisory Services Inc. (“Mason”) completed a comprehensive review of hedge fund and private equity investment vehicles, “alternatives,” to assess potential benefits to our existing model allocations. We conducted extensive research and analysis of management teams, fee structures and risk adjusted returns to investors. We then assessed, compared and contrasted fee structures of alternatives to the mutual fund industry. When considering the merits of hedge fund vehicles, an investor should consider the contribution to, or role, these investment play in the portfolio.

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Efficient Market Based Fund Study

Mason Investment Advisory Services, Inc. (“Mason”) set out to determine whether our clients would benefit from additional exposure to passive investments. Mason set out to determine if Efficient Market Based (“EMB”) funds would satisfy three main objectives: higher returns, better / more accurate asset class implementation, and lower expenses. Since we have determined that markets are mostly but not completely efficient, it is important to be able to use funds that apply an efficient market based approach and at the same time overcome the traditional limitations of index investing.

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Low Interest Environment Study

We believe investors’ best interests are generally served by investing in a strategy most appropriate over the long term, rather than attempting to make market calls over short time horizons. In general, historical long term returns have provided a better guide than have tacticians who often base decisions partly on performance which has recently been achieved by various asset classes.

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Rebalancing in a Volatile Market

We stress to our clients and others that a detailed asset allocation plan combined with a disciplined rebalancing process may allow us to use market volatility to our advantage. As an investment advisory firm with a long tradition that is steeped in a disciplined and consistent investment philosophy, it is interesting to note that during times of extreme panic and euphoria maintaining our investment discipline can be a challenge. What have we learned? What is our plan, going forward?

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Revisiting Your Investment and Distribution Goals

Benjamin Franklin once said that nothing in this world is certain, except death and taxes. Endowments suspend these certainties as they are generally exempt from taxes and live on indefinitely. Endowment spending policies specify the balancing between appropriately funding today’s beneficiaries and protecting endowment assets for tomorrow’s beneficiaries. Since fiduciaries maintain a substantial portfolio to fund the needs of both future and current generations, it is important to establish a portfolio allocation and payout policy that properly balances these competing demands.

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Strategic Asset Allocation and Opportunistic Rebalancing for Foundations and Nonprofits

A goal of foundations in general is to achieve a level of return that is adequate to further their missions at an acceptable risk level; in other words, they do not wish to take on more risk than is necessary to accomplish the goal. During bear markets, foundations are typically concerned about rapid and severe reductions in asset values. Alternatively, during bull markets foundations may take on more risk than they need to achieve their long-term goals. Over the long term, however, we believe that it is important to have a disciplined strategy and not overreact to short-term trends.

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Investment Management and Financial Planning Services are provided by Mason Investment Advisory Services, Inc.

Mason Investment Advisory Services, Inc. is a SEC registered investment advisor and has an affiliate, Mason Securities, Inc., a FINRA Member Broker/Dealer (www.finra.org).

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