Bryan Shipley, CFA, CAIA, Wealth Manager and Senior Portfolio Manager at Coldstream Wealth, joined Keith Black, Managing Director of RIA Channel, to discuss how his firm chose to join Coldstream.
With $7.57 billion in firm assets and $2.34 billion in ETF assets as of March 31, 2024, Coldstream Wealth ranks #50 in RIA Channel’s list of the Top 50 ETF Power Users. By the end of August 2024, assets held by Coldstream’s clients increased to over $10 billion after the integration of Arnerich Massena.
Shipley previously served as the Co-CEO and Chief Investment Officer of Arnerich Massena, a firm that joined Coldstream Wealth in 2024. He continues to advise the endowment and foundation clients he served before the two firms joined as strategic partners.
While the RIA industry has seen aggressive M&A activity, the number of RIA firms continues to grow. After performing due diligence on a number of potential partners, the team decided to join Coldstream due to its independent boutique feel, where the firm is 100% employee-owned. All members of the Arnerich Messian team joining Coldstream became shareholders at the time of the combination.
Shipley notes that the active management industry has been under pressure for the right reasons. In efficient markets, it can be difficult for active managers to generate enough alpha to justify their higher fees. Coldstream prefers to invest in ETFs and passive products in the most efficient market sectors, such as US large-cap stocks. ETFs are also employed to gain targeted exposures to desired fixed-income allocations. Thematic ETFs can be used to take advantage of tactical views, such as an allocation to utility stocks, as interest rates decline before the anticipated easing of the Fed’s monetary policy. While Coldstream uses ETFs across all market capitalization ranges, it is easier to justify allocation to mutual funds and active managers in the small-cap sector. International stocks, especially in emerging markets, can benefit from active management due to lower degrees of market efficiency.
Resources:
RIA Channel Top 50 ETF Power Users Ranking