Category Archives: FlexShares

Ep 5: High Yield Marketplace- Evaluating The Risks — With Ellen Chenoweth



There’s still a lot of uncertainty regarding the future of the marketplace, and investors are scrambling to generate income while some may feel high yield is too risky.  

In this episode Ellen Chenoweth, associate investment strategist for FlexShares exchange traded funds, explores some of the implications and market drivers, portfolio diversification, and contemporary ways to assess the high yield market. 

In this episode you will learn:

  • How high yield can be used in a portfolio
  • The market risks affecting high yield- what you should pay attention to
  •  If defaults follow a similar similar pattern
  • Why investors should consider the asset class
  • How investors can implement contemporary quantitative tools in their portfolios

Listen in as Ellen discusses the everchanging high yield marketplace and how investors are adapting!

Resources: FlexShares | Ellen Chenoweth on LinkedIn | FlexShares Case for High Yield White Paper |  Risk-Free Rate of Return | Embedded option


Ep 4: Zero Interest Rate Policy (ZIRP) – The Remake No Investor Really Wanted to See — With Mark Carlson



Some Investors have seen this movie before and therefore they may possess a better understanding of the needed investment actions in response to ZIRP the remake.

In this episode Mark Carlson, Senior  Investment Strategist for Northern Trust FlexShares ETFs review of the remake edition of ZIRP and discussions of ideas investors can pursue to address their liquidity investing objectives during a ZIRP environment

In this episode, you will learn:

  • What is different this time with ZIRP 2020
  • What happened in 2020 to disrupt the sector 
  • What FlexShares has done in an effort to try and address the issues within fixed income strategy to help investors through these challenging periods of managing  short-term liquidity assets 
  • How you may want to consider utilizing the investment strategy behind RAVI in today’s volatile and uncertain markets 

Listen in to hear how Mark believes that today’s ZIRP is a remake that most investors never wanted to see made

Resources:FlexShares | Mark Carlson on LinkedIn |

NTAC:3NS-20


Ep 3: The Drive Behind the Rising Prices of Gold — With Ellen Chenoweth



Welcome to the Funds in Focus podcast, the show that brings you thoughtful and informed conversations between leading subject-matter experts and members of the FlexShares investment strategy team about current market trends. 

In today’s episode Investment Strategist Ellen Chenoweth discusses the drivers behind the inflation debate and potential investment strategies to consider in this environment. 

In this episode, you will learn:

  • Why investors are starting to pay closer attention to the risk of inflation
  • What risks advisors should be paying attention to
  • How to potentially protect against these risks 
  • How the 2020 election could affect the inflation rate

Tune in now to hear Jehan and Ellen discuss the evidence behind the rising prices.

Resources: FlexShares | Ellen Chenoweth on LinkedIn |


Ep 2: Historical Natural Resources & Commodities Investing – Post COVID-19 Crisis Impact — With Mark Carlson



Welcome to the Funds in Focus podcast, the show that brings you thoughtful and informed conversations between leading subject-matter experts and members of the FlexShares investment strategy team about current market trends. 

In today’s episode Investment Strategist Mark Carlson discusses the natural resource/commodity sector currently being slightly out of favor with investors. Mark touches on how the U.S. and global economies will at some point recover and the demand for raw materials should return.

In this episode, you will learn:

  • Some background on investing in natural resources and commodities
  • How investing in commodities has changed over time
  • The differences between investing in upstream natural resource equities and commodity futures investing
  • What sectors within natural resources may be the primary drivers of these investment outcomes that may evolve in the post-COVID-19 world

Tune in now to learn about the trends and the opportunities in natural resources

For standardized performance for GUNR please click here. Past performance does not guarantee future results. 

FlexShares | Mark Carlson on LinkedIn |


Ep 1: How COVID-19 Has Impacted Global Listed Infrastructure — With Evan McCall



Welcome to the Funds in Focus podcast, the show that brings you thoughtful and informed conversations between leading subject-matter experts and members of the FlexShares investment strategy team about current market trends. 

In today’s episode, we talk to investment strategist Evan McCall about how one segment of real assets, global listed infrastructure, held up during the turmoil of the coronavirus pandemic. Evan unpacks how different sectors performed during the first and second quarter and what developments he expects to see from the more contemporary sectors. 

You will learn: 

  • What attracts investors to infrastructure investments 
  • Which two infrastructure-related structures have had significantly negative performances 
  • A look at contemporary approaches to infrastructure investing 
  • How market participants are reacting to the stream of new information about COVID-19 
  • How infrastructure industries performed during the first and second quarter of 2020 
  • What kinds of developments Evan expects to see from contemporary sectors going forward 

Tune in now to hear what affect COVID-19 has had so far on global listed infrastructure. 

Resources: FlexShares | Northern Trust | Evan McCall on LinkedIn |