Who is RBA?
Deep dive into RBA’s story, an investment management firm that stands out for its macroeconomic investment approach and team-based portfolio management. Unlike traditional firms focused on individual stock picking, RBA uses a collaborative investment committee to build diversified portfolios based on global market trends. This flexible strategy allows the firm to shift between growth, value, large-cap, small-cap, U.S., and international equities. By fostering open discussion and diverse viewpoints, RBA avoids groupthink and creates dynamic portfolios aligned with changing market conditions.
Why investors listen to RBA
In this video, Richard Bernstein, CEO & CIO at RBA, explains how RBA is a process-driven macro investment firm that sets itself apart by avoiding event-driven strategies and focusing instead on long-term fundamentals. Through its unique “Pactiv” approach—active management of passive investments—RBA emphasizes asset allocation over individual stock picking, aiming to optimize portfolios through diversified exposure to regions, sectors, and investment styles. The firm prioritizes strategic portfolio construction to improve returns and reduce volatility, leveraging overlooked opportunities such as high-yield municipal bonds. RBA offers liquid, cost-effective, and transparent investment solutions, backed by strong client relationships, open communication, and a culture of trust and collaboration.
RBA’s client-focused approach
This video highlights RBA’s strong commitment to client communication and transparency, emphasizing how they prioritize delivering timely and relevant information. Through monthly research reports, quarterly conference calls attracting thousands of listeners, and detailed outreach including trade rationales and fact sheets, RBA ensures clients are well-informed. The firm’s proactive approach was especially evident during the pandemic market downturn, where they conducted numerous individual and national calls to address uncertainty and provide clear insights. RBA’s dedication to openness helps clients confidently make informed decisions, not only about RBA portfolios but also across their broader investment strategies.
What is RBA’s investment process?
RBA’s investment process centers on identifying the key drivers of performance cycles, focusing on three core principles: corporate profits, liquidity, and sentiment or valuation. By analyzing decades of market history, RBA determines the current investment cycle and the styles best suited to the environment. Corporate profits are emphasized as the most critical factor, guiding when to take risk in portfolios, typically when profits are growing rapidly and conditions are favorable. The firm follows the philosophy that returns are greatest when capital is scarce, as this often signals undervalued opportunities with significant long-term potential. RBA’s approach integrates a rigorous “x-ray” process to analyze total portfolio exposures, combining multiple ETFs to achieve precise asset allocation across regions, sizes, and styles. Grounded in data and disciplined analysis, RBA ensures investment decisions are objective and substantiated, distinguishing their strategy from more speculative approaches.
Why does macro matter at RBA?
RBA focuses on multi-asset macro strategies, emphasizing macroeconomic variables over individual stock selection. Their investment approach centers on key factors such as size, style, region, and sector allocation for equities, and interest rates, duration, credit quality, and asset class selection for bonds. Recognizing that portfolio returns largely stem from these broad macro factors, especially as portfolios grow larger and risks become more correlated, RBA employs a research-driven and collaborative investment committee process. This ensures consistent intellectual capital and unified views across all portfolios. Their research is grounded in three core pillars: corporate profits, liquidity, and sentiment/valuation, which have been identified through decades of experience as the primary drivers of asset valuations and investment performance.
Why RBA uses ETF portfolios
John McCombe explores how the firm’s growth has been driven by its ETF portfolio strategies launched in 2010, emphasizing their asset allocation approach tailored for various investor profiles. Highlighting the rapid expansion of ETFs over the past decade, the speaker discusses their cost-efficiency, flexibility across market sectors, and compatibility with the firm’s investment philosophy, which focuses on sectors and regions rather than individual stocks. The firm offers a comprehensive suite of ETF strategies, conservative, moderate, and aggressive, designed to meet the needs of all investor types, with growing interest particularly noted in the European market.
Why RBA uses a team approach
Lisa Krischner and Matthew Griswold highlight the collaborative strength and long-standing cohesion of the RBA investment team, emphasizing how years of shared experience and navigating multiple market cycles have created a deep understanding of each member’s strengths. Through a team-based approach, RBA brings together diverse perspectives to solve complex investment challenges, likening their strategy development to solving a dynamic puzzle. Spirited discussions and differing viewpoints often lead to some of the firm’s most innovative ideas, while the energy and drive of individual team members fuel a culture of collective excellence. The structured process, from research and strategy formulation to seamless implementation, ensures efficient portfolio management across clients. This synergy, built on varied expertise and mutual respect, allows RBA to consistently deliver high-impact investment decisions and reinforces the belief that the whole is truly greater than the sum of its parts.
