- May 20, 2016, 12:43 P.M. ET
[h=1]Super Wealthy: Ignoring Market-Crash Danger, Buying Pricing Anomalies[/h]
[h=3]By Richard C. Morais[/h] Feeling the angst in the air, I called up Lincoln Ellis, the senior investment strategist for
Northern Trust?s Global Family Office, a low-profile unit serving 400 clients worth over $800 million each on average. Were Northern Trust?s wealthiest clients worried about a market rout, I asked, and, if so, what were some of the best ?defensive moves they?ve taken over the past year?
Ellis? unequivocal answer is that his clients don?t think a crash is coming, and are nowhere near to stuffing cash under the mattress. ?I have not had that conversation with anyone,? he insists. The only signs of concern Ellis has seen are clients modestly boosting cash reserves and asking tough questions about high valuations in ?certain asset classes.
While Northern Trust?s private bank
has long advocated a zero cash position in its model port?folio, its wealthiest clients anticipated the rate-rise volatility and started taking some profits, says Ellis, about 18 to 24 months before the recent volatility hit. But these clients were getting their cash piles ready so they could take more risk, not less.
?The questions we get tend to be more about where the price ?dislocations are: ?Can you advise us on where the opportunities are materializing and how we could take advantage of them?? ? he says...
