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Joe Halpern, Portfolio Manager

20 posts

Joseph (Joe) Halpern is Portfolio Manager of a defined outcome strategy at Catalyst Funds. Mr. Halpern has structured, priced, and traded billions of dollars in structured products, exotic derivatives, and listed vanilla options. Additionally, he has managed trading groups, supervised risk management, and participated in executive-level, firm-wide strategic initiatives for several leading financial institutions. In 2012, Mr. Halpern founded Exceed Holdings, LLC, an investment holding company focused on developing next-generation structured investments. The Exceed entities are collectively referred to by the brand name Exceed Investments.

3 min

Case Study: How Options Investing Can Go Right (and Wrong) Using ARKK As an Example

In 2020, the ARKK Innovation ETF (ARKK) caught the imagination of the investing public after generating a 152% return for the year. ARKK seeks to invest in cutting edge, innovative companies - tomorrow's most promising companies - through an active approach managed by Kathy Woods, a well-known and established portfolio manager that the Street loves to hate.

1 min

CE Webinar: Buffered Strategies What They Are, How They Work, & When to Use Them

Buffered strategies and other Defined Outcome approaches are among the fastest growing areas of the ETF/Mutual Fund and annuity markets and continue to be a significant issuance of the major banks. These products will continue to grow and catch the attention of advisors, agents, and clients alike.

3 min

Structured Product Pioneer Discusses the Reasons for Dramatic Rise in Defined Outcome ETFs

Structured annuities are a category within annuities that are a popular investment vehicle due to their balance of protection and upside, achieved by protecting a portion of downside in return for participation in the upside. They are used for what's called defined outcome investing.

4 min

Looking Under the Hood of Structured Annuities Benefits and Detriments

In part two of my blog posts on structured annuities, I would like to discuss the benefits and detriments of the asset class, and then compare/contrast the two examples that I presented in our last post.

4 min

Looking Under the Hood of Structured Annuities Pricing and Construction

Structured annuities are a category within annuities that have gone from zero to $12 billion dollars in annual issuance over the last nine years. Structured annuities are also known as buffered annuities, indexed variable annuities, and index-linked variable annuities.

3 min

Buffered Annuities: Buyers Beware!

We generally believe there is a place and time for most structured annuity segment types given their hedge characteristics and the strong levels of definition that clients truly appreciate.

0 min

Options Manager Looks Under the Hood of Structured Annuities, Part 2

0 min

Understanding the risks and rewards of structured annuities

One of the major benefits and selling points of a structured annuity is the “definition” it provides. The segment portion of the structured annuity spells out exactly what the purchaser will receive at maturity based on how the underlying security performs.

0 min

Options Manager Looks Under the Hood of Structured Annuities

The objective of pretty much every investor is downside protection with upside participation, which is the goal of structured annuities, one of the fastest growing segments of annuities with over $9 billion of annual issuance.

0 min

Investment Strategy Insights

Using Structured Annuities to Hedge Against the Ups and Downs of the Stock Market

The objective of pretty much every investor is downside protection with upside participation, which is the goal of structured annuities, one of the fastest growing segments of annuities with over $9 billion of annual issuance.

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