Month: August 2026
Protecting Your Portfolio During Market Drawdowns with James St. Aubin, CFA®, CAIA® (Ep. 102)

Protecting Your Portfolio During Market Drawdowns with James St. Aubin, CFA®, CAIA® (Ep. 102)

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What happens to your retirement portfolio when the next major market downturn arrives? Markets can spend years moving higher, making it easy to forget how quickly conditions can change. Preparing for uncertainty often starts long before volatility returns.

In this episode, Robert Curtiss speaks with James St. Aubin, CFA®, CAIA®, Chief Investment Officer and Portfolio Manager at Ocean Park Asset Management, about protecting portfolios during market declines without relying solely on traditional diversification. 

They explore trend following strategies, downside risk management, investor psychology, portfolio construction, changing stock and bond correlations, the strengths and limitations of AI investment tools, and why maintaining a disciplined investment process becomes increasingly important as retirement approaches.

Key points:

  • How trend following strategies seek to reduce large portfolio drawdowns through disciplined investment rules
  • Why diversification alone may not provide enough protection during certain market environments
  • How retirement timing changes an investor’s ability to recover from significant portfolio losses
  • What recent bond market performance reveals about changing stock and bond correlations
  • Why AI investing tools should support, rather than replace, thoughtful financial decision making
  • And more!

Resources:

Connect with James St. Aubin:

Connect with Robert Curtiss:

About Our Guest:

James St. Aubin, CFA®, CAIA®, is Chief Investment Officer and Portfolio Manager for Ocean Park Asset Management. He has oversight of all Investment Management department activities, in collaboration with Co-founders David Wright and Kenneth Sleeper.

An experienced investment management executive, his career of more than 20 years includes leadership roles in asset allocation, manager research, and portfolio construction.

James earned a Bachelor of Science in Finance from DePaul University and is a CFA® and CAIA® Charterholder.
Private Credit and Its Role in a Diversified Portfolio with Phil Huber, CFA, CFP® (Ep. 101)

Private Credit and Its Role in a Diversified Portfolio with Phil Huber, CFA, CFP® (Ep. 101)

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Private credit has become one of the fastest-growing areas of investing, yet it’s also surrounded by headlines that often create uncertainty.

How should long-term investors evaluate the opportunity? When does media attention reflect genuine risks, and when does it distract from the bigger picture?

In this episode, Robert Curtiss welcomes back Phil Huber, CFA, CFP®, Managing Director and Head of Portfolio Solutions at Cliffwater, to discuss private credit and its growing role in diversified portfolios. They explain why recent headlines about defaults, liquidity, and valuations deserve context, how private credit differs from traditional fixed-income investments, and why institutional investors continue to allocate to the asset class. 

They also explore how long-term discipline, diversification, and a rules-based investment process can help investors separate meaningful information from market noise.

Key takeaways:

  • Why private credit has expanded as banks reduced lending to middle-market businesses
  • How private credit generates returns through contractual income rather than stock-like appreciation
  • Why institutional investors continue increasing allocations despite concerning headlines
  • How diversification and manager selection can help reduce borrower-specific risks
  • Why long-term discipline often leads to better investment decisions than reacting to headlines
  • And more!

Resources:

Connect with Phil Huber:

Connect with Robert Curtiss:

About Our Guest:

Phil Huber, CFA, CFP®, is the Managing Director and Head of Portfolio Solutions at Cliffwater, where he focuses on research, portfolio construction, and helping advisors and investors better understand private markets and alternative investments. He regularly analyzes topics including private credit, private equity, and portfolio diversification, translating complex investment concepts into practical insights for long-term investors. Through his research and industry commentary, Phil helps financial professionals evaluate alternative investment opportunities within disciplined, diversified portfolio strategies.

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