Built to Help Fulfill the Mission and Create Enduring Impact

Fulfilling an impactful and enduring mission requires investment management centered on defining and managing risk.

Managing investments is more about risk management, than return management.

Benjamin Graham

By actively seeking to not lose big, we believe that investors will be better off in the long run.

Randy Swan

Consistent returns and capital preservation are hallmarks of the Defined Risk Strategy (DRS).

 

By defining and managing portfolio risk through full market cycles, our innovative and time-tested investment strategy is distinctly suited for helping foundations, endowments, and nonprofits sustain the good work they do.

 

Our Defined Risk Strategy (DRS) is applied to many asset classes and can be accessed via several structures based on the organization’s unique mission, investment policy, and operating situation.

  • DRS separately managed accounts, ETFs, or mutual funds can be utilized to complement long-only equity strategies to help de-risk portfolios across asset classes.

  • Swan Overlays can be specifically tailored to accommodate an institution’s spending policy, cash flow needs, and operating budget.

A Changing Landscape Requires New Solutions

Research suggests the best-performing endowments have earned higher returns by having larger allocations to alternative investments.

  • in 1988 nearly 75% of the Yale Endowment was committed to U.S. stocks, bonds, and cash,

  • in 2008 they only had a 14% allocation in domestic market securities, with 86% allocation in foreign equity, private equity, absolute return strategies, and real assets.

  • in 2021, the Yale Endowment has over 40% allocation to alternatives, including venture capital, leveraged buyouts, and absolute return 

 

In this low-yield world, with global equities in a late-stage bull market, many institutional investors are seeking new ways to de-risk portfolios and generate income.

 

Increasingly investment committees, and their consultants, are utilizing options and options-based strategies to fulfill these roles.

 

Since 1997, Swan Global Investments has been pioneering options and hedging strategies to help clients manage portfolio risk, generate income, and remain invested for growth.

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