Sage is pleased to announce several new additions to our business development and ESG teams, as well as the elevation of key internal personnel.

As always, we encourage you to contact us to learn more about our dedicated professional staff and their efforts to provide creative, helpful investment management services. Please visit www.sageadvisory.com for more information or call 512.327.5530 to speak with a Sage representative.

 

Lily Tu

Vice President of Institutional Business Development & Consultant Relations

On April 15, Lily Tu will join Sage as Vice President of Institutional Business Development and Consultant Relations.

Lily brings to Sage over 18 years of demonstrated success and a broad-based team leadership background encompassing portfolio management, business development, and quantitative research. Lily has a deep and well-developed understanding for the investment management needs of foundations, endowments, family offices, and high-net-worth private clients. Her knowledge and seasoned experience will serve to augment and further enhance our well-established asset management and solutions-based advisory services.

Lily joins Sage from J.P. Morgan Securities in New York, where she successfully managed a client-focused service team responsible for investment portfolio construction, asset allocation, and market research communications. Previously, Lily worked in the same capacity at Morgan Stanley Private Wealth Management beginning in 2009, and she began her professional career with Goldman Sachs Wealth Management in 2005. Lily received her B.S. in Management Science and Information Systems from the Rutgers College Honors Program at Rutgers University and was an MSIS Valedictorian.

In her new position, Lily will work directly with members of our senior management and investment team to support our clients and expand the market awareness of our institutional investment management strategies and quantitative advisory services.

 

Dale J. Korman, CFP, CIMA

Regional Director for Marketing & Business Development, Southeast

On March 30, Dale Korman will be joining our firm as a Regional Director for Marketing and Business Development. Dale will be based in St. Petersburg, Florida, and will be responsible for expanding Sage’s business presence with Financial Advisors and Independent RIA’s throughout the Southeast region.

Dale brings over 15 years of professional experience as a seasoned Wholesaler focused on developing wire house, independent, and RIA distribution channels throughout Florida and the southeast. Over the last decade, Dale has worked as a senior marketing representative for such firms as Novak & Powell Financial Services, First Eagle Funds, and Neuberger Berman, LLC. Over this period, Dale earned and received a variety of business development distinctions and awards from his employers.

Dale is an honor graduate of Penn State University-Schreyer Honors College and received a B.S. degree in Mathematics. He is also a Certified Investment Management Analyst (CIMA) and a Certified Financial Planner (CFP).

We welcome the addition of Dale to our organization. He will further augment and expand our professional capabilities to better serve the interests of our clients and advisor relationships.

 

Wade T. Uloth

Vice President & Chief Compliance Officer

Wade Uloth has been appointed to the position of Vice President and Chief Compliance Officer.

Wade began his career with Sage in 2013 as a member of the Compliance and Financial Management team. Since joining Sage, Wade has become a pivotal member of the firm’s financial management and regulatory compliance oversight efforts. He has worked to introduce and implement a variety of important firm-wide operating standards to improve our internal compliance and client reporting systems. Wade has also been chiefly responsible for successfully guiding the firm’s important regulatory audits and ongoing external due diligence communications with a wide variety of major financial service firms. In this new management role, Wade will report directly to the President of the firm and become a member of the firm’s Operating Committee, which guides Sage’s daily business and service delivery efforts.

Previously, Wade was employed with Veritrust Financial, LLC, as the Chief Compliance Officer in Austin, Texas, and prior to that, he was employed by Ameriprise Financial to work with financial planning clients.

Wade is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and received a B.A. degree in Finance. He holds the Investment Advisor Certified Compliance Professional (IACCP) designation from National Regulatory Services (NRS).

This appointment will further strengthen our management efforts and gives us an opportunity to enhance and fortify our business management and development efforts.

 

Allison Hartman

Vice President & Director of Operations

Allison Hartman has been appointed to the position of Vice President and Director of Operations.

Allison began her career with Sage in 2009 as a member of the Portfolio Management and Accounting team. Since joining Sage, Allison has become a pivotal member of the firm’s operations, and she serves as the firm’s Senior Investment Performance Analyst. Allison has worked diligently to improve our reporting systems and operating efficiencies, and she has successfully shepherded the firm’s important and multiple GIPS performance certification efforts since 2011. In addition to this new management role, Allison will become a member of the firm’s Operating Committee, which guides Sage’s daily business and service delivery efforts.

Previously, Allison was employed with BNY Mellon in Houston as a Client Relationship Manager and Administrator for Asset Backed and CDO portfolios. Prior to that, she was employed by J.P. Morgan as a Senior Trust Administrator and Client Relationship Manager.

Allison is an honor graduate of the University of Texas at Austin, and she received a B.A. degree in Mathematics. She is working to complete her Level II requirements for the Certificate in Investment Performance Measurement (CIPM).

This appointment strengthens our business capabilities and provides an opportunity to introduce a fresh dimension to our management team.

 

Amy C. Neves

Senior Internal Sales & Wholesaler

Amy Neves has joined our firm as Senior Internal Sales and Wholesaler within our Private Client business development and marketing team. Amy is based in Austin and, in her new role, she is responsible for expanding Sage’s business presence throughout the Northwest region. She will work with our other senior marketing professionals to help service their respective regional efforts. Amy brings many years of industry experience, knowledge, and success from her previous work within the investment services industry.

Prior to joining Sage, Amy served as a Senior Internal Sales professional with Resolute Investment Managers and American Beacon Advisors, Inc., where she was responsible for developing and supporting independent and brokerage firm Financial Advisors. Prior to this role, Amy worked with Invesco Aim Distributors, Inc. as a Business Development Manager covering the Western Region of the U.S. Amy attended Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas.

We very much welcome the addition of Amy and her seasoned expertise to our business development team. She will further augment and expand our professional capabilities to better serve the interests of our clients and Advisor relationships.

 

Sean C. Krasan

Vice President & Principal

Sean Krasan, Vice President and Principal of Sage Advisory, will assume a new role within our Consultant Relations and Client Services team. This change will become effective April 1, with the intention that it will greatly augment and expand our institutional client service and business development capabilities. In this role, Sean will be chiefly responsible for the care and development of the firm’s Taft-Hartley and Public Pension Plan relationships. In this capacity, he will work closely with Sage’s risk management and quantitative research teams to deliver our full range of investment services to these important clients.

Sean is one of the founding members of our firm, and he has worked successfully in many professional capacities for Sage to help ensure the growth and advancement of our business. We look forward to Sean continuing these efforts as he pursues his new responsibilities on behalf of the firm.

 

Sara Rodriguez

ESG Research Analyst

Sara joins Sage as an ESG Research Analyst. Previously, she was an ESG Intern at Sage since 2019. With a background in sustainability, Sara has honed her skills as a research analyst, utilizing the firm’s third-party research data to analyze companies’ ESG factors. Sara has been pivotal in constructing effective ESG marketing materials to distribute to clients and Sage’s social media channels.

Sara graduated with honors from the University of Texas at Austin and holds a B.A. degree in Sustainability Studies. She also earned a minor in Business Foundations from the McCombs School of Business, from which she obtained a certificate from the Energy Management Program.

We welcome Sara to Sage, where her appointment will help strengthen the research analytics capabilities of our ESG team.

AUSTIN, Texas, Jan. 24, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — Sage Advisory Services (“Sage”), a fixed income investment management firm, announced that its ESG Intermediate Credit exchanged‐traded fund (the “Fund”), “GUDB,” will be actively managed on or about February 14, 2020.

At that time, the Fund will no longer seek to track an index and operate pursuant to a transparent actively managed strategy. The Fund’s name will change to Sage Intermediate Term ETF. The expense ratio and ticker remain unchanged. The new investment objective and strategy includes:

• The Fund seeks competitive risk-adjusted returns by investing in fixed income securities that display strong fundamentals and positive environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) characteristics.
• A proprietary ESG framework to score individual issuers based on environmental, social, and governance attributes. Sage subscribes to the philosophy that companies with more sustainable corporate policies will keep pace with non‐ESG portfolios while promoting enhanced ESG characteristics.
• Each security considered for inclusion in the Fund’s portfolio is assessed and scored based on a proprietary system called the “Sage Leaf Score.” The Sage Leaf Score, which is based on a 1 to 5 scale (5 represents ESG leaders), combines an ESG macro industry risk analysis with a company‐level sustainability evaluation along with any possible exclusions to create an individual score for each issuer. The Fund seeks to maintain an investment portfolio that consists of securities with a Sage Leaf Score of 3 or better.
• Includes government and agency credits in order to broaden the investment horizon and improve the Fund’s risk/reward profile and potential.

“The risk dynamics of the marketplace are changing, and we feel this product needs to adjust for the benefit of the investor,” said Bob Smith, Sage President and CIO. “Creating a more active approach is consistent with the general investment strategy of the firm.”

About Sage Advisory Services
Sage is an independent investment management firm headquartered in Austin, TX, that serves the institutional and private client marketplace with traditional fixed‐income asset management, global tactical ETF strategies and liability‐driven investment solutions. As of December 2019, Sage manages and advises over $14 billion in client assets. For more information, visit https://www.sageadvisory.com/

Investors should carefully consider the investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses of the Sage ESG Intermediate Credit ETF (to be called “Sage ESG Intermediate Term ETF”). This and other important information about the Fund is contained in the prospectus, which can be obtained by calling 888‐724‐3911. The prospectus should be read carefully before investing. The Fund is distributed by Northern Lights Distributors, LLC, Member FINRA/SIPC. Sage Advisory Services LTD Co. and Northern Lights Distributors, LLC are not affiliated.

Important Risk Information

Investing in the Fund involves risk including the possible loss of principal. There is no guarantee that the Fund will achieve its objectives. The fund will generally invest at least 80% of its assets in intermediate term fixed‐income securities. The value of fixed income securities will fluctuate with changes in interest rates. Lower quality bonds present greater risk than bonds of higher quality. The ESG investment strategy limits the types and number of investment opportunities available and the strategy may underperform other strategies. The Fund is structures as an ETF and is subject to risks including, not individually redeemable, trading issues and market price variance.

The investment technique and risk analyses applied by the adviser may not produce the desired results and market conditions may affect the Fund’s value. The fund’s investment in collateralized mortgage obligations may entail greater market, prepayment and liquidity risks than other mortgage backed securities. The Fund is subject to risks that may impact the real estate market. Shares may trade below their NAV and there is no assurance that an active trading market for the shares will develop or by maintained.

3110‐NLD‐1/21/2020

SOURCE Sage Advisory

Sage to List ESG ETF on New York Stock Exchange

December 20, 2019; Austin, TX – Sage Advisory Services (“Sage”), a fixed income investment management firm, is to list its ESG Intermediate Credit ETF, GUDB, on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) beginning January 2, 2020. GUDB will be moving from the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), where it has been trading since 2017 but will continue to be listed under the ticker symbol, “GUDB”.

GUDB seeks to provide investors access to a diversified portfolio of investment grade corporate bonds issued by companies with best-in-class ESG characteristics, strong fundamentals, and a high degree of liquidity. This ETF tracks the Sage ESG Credit Intermediate Index.

“The NYSE is thrilled to welcome GUDB to NYSE Arca, the Home of ETFs. Sage’s investors will now be able to tap into deep liquidity and narrow spreads as a result of this listing. The NYSE ETF team looks forward to supporting GUDB in 2020 and beyond,” said Douglas Yones, Head of Exchange Traded Products at the New York Stock Exchange.

“We’re excited to call NYSE the new home for GUDB, as we hope it will provide our investors with the deepest liquidity and the opportunity to benefit from tight pricing,” said Robert G. Smith. President and CIO of Sage. “We are firm believers that a responsible and sustainable approach to investing does not need to result in any erosion of returns, and ETFs such as GUDB are designed with this in mind.”

About Sage Advisory Services
Sage is an independent investment management firm headquartered in Austin, TX, that serves the institutional and private client marketplace with traditional fixed-income asset management, global tactical ETF strategies and liability-driven investment solutions. As of December 2019, Sage manages and advises over $14 billion in client assets. For more information, visit https://www.sageadvisory.com/

For media inquiries, contact:
Haley Tole
Paragon Public Relations
haley@paragonpr.com
646.558.6226

AUSTIN, Texas – Sage Advisory Services, a fixed income and ETF strategy manager, conducted a survey of ETF providers to evaluate their dedication to higher standards of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) performance among the companies in which they are invested.

Sage sent the 26-question survey to 20 U.S. domiciled ETFs sponsors, with 14 of them completing the survey. Emma Smith, an ESG research analyst at Sage, led the ESG team in designing the survey and reviewing the ETF provider responses.

“We sent the survey because we believe that we need to be good fiduciary managers,” Smith said. “We are looking under the hood to make sure that [ETF providers] are doing in fact what they say they are doing in terms of their stewardship responsibilities.”

Sage designed this survey to measure engagement among ETF providers and to create more transparency for our clients. In analyzing the survey results, Sage found that most ETF providers have policies in place for corporate governance, proxy voting, and ESG evaluation.

Sage’s survey found that 50% of the Sponsors scored well on most of the stewardship issues and achieved a solid overall grade of “A.”

However, the survey results also suggested that the majority of ETF sponsors need to place a much higher priority on and dedicate more resources to corporate engagement to better fulfill their stewardship roles. By shining a light on these issues, Sage hopes that transparency in this field will improve.

“Transparency is key,” Smith said. “Investors want to know that these providers are doing what they are doing to truly affect their companies within their portfolios.”

Investors are demanding more information around ESG mandates, and Sage is dedicated to improving the understanding behind the various management decisions and governance policies that determine ETF investment choices.

Sage’s ESG team hopes that this survey will serve as a resource for investors to better understand the quality and breadth of fiduciary responsibility among ETF providers.

 

More on the survey results can be found here:

https://www.sageadvisory.com/media-assets/esg-perspectives-etf-sponsor-stewardship-survey/

https://www.sageadvisory.com/podcasts/the-results-of-sages-esg-stewardship-survey/

For more information, please contact

Jessica McHugh, Director of Marketing Communications

512-895-4173

media@sageadvisory.com

AUSTIN, Texas – Sage Advisory Services, an Austin-based independent investment management firm, has teamed up with Clint Small Middle School (CSMS) to support its Green Tech Program.

The Green Tech Program incorporates innovative courses in environmental studies and technology for the school’s students. CSMS has been recognized as the first school in Texas to receive the Eco-Schools USA Green Flag Award from the National Wildlife Federation. This award recognizes schools for their exceptional achievement in sustainability education.

CSMS’s unique program enables students to begin an environmental-focused academic career. The Green Tech Program also aligns with Sage Advisory’s sustainability education efforts; the company has a strong focus on Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) investing.

“Working in this area of finance allows us to understand sustainability from a real-world perspective, and in turn we can help kids understand from a young age that this is important,” said Emma Smith, an ESG research analyst at Sage Advisory.

Sage Advisory wanted to partner with a program that aligned with the company’s sustainability beliefs, while also giving employees the opportunity to engage with their local community.

“Getting out in the community is important and allows us to give back not only monetarily, but in time as well,” said Smith.

In working with CSMS’s Green Tech Program, Sage Advisory’s team members volunteered their time to help the students with their project by planting trees, cleaning up their animal enclosures, and creating a planter box for their garden.

Sage Advisory will continue its efforts with CSMS with the goals of raising more funding for their program, as well as helping the students on their green tech projects.

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For more information, please contact Jessica McHugh, Sage Director of Marketing Communications, at media@sageadvisory.com or call 512-327-5530.

 

Dear Clients and Friends,

We are very pleased to announce the appointment of Sean F. McShea as Executive Vice President of Institutional Business Development and Consultant Relations.

Sean brings to Sage over 25 years of demonstrated success and a broad-based leadership background that encompasses portfolio management, business development, and quantitative research. Sean has a deep and well-developed understanding of the investment management needs for Taft-Hartley funds, endowments, foundations, hospitals, and pension plans. His knowledge will enhance our well-established capital market research and liability-focused advisory services.

Sean joins Sage from Ryan Labs Asset Management, Inc., where he began his investment management career in 1993 as one of the firm’s initial professional staff members. In 2004 he became President of the organization, which was acquired by Sun Life Investment Management, Inc. in 2015. During Sean’s time at the firm, total return fixed income and LDI institutional assets under management grew from $800 million to $8.5 billion by year-end 2017.

Sean earned his MBA in Finance and Accounting from Columbia Business School in New York City. During his time there, he served as President of the Graduate Business Association. He also attended the Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Worcester, Mass., where he graduated with distinction and received a B.S. degree in Industrial Engineering.

In his new position, Sean will work directly with members of our senior management and investment team to support our clients and expand the market awareness of our institutional investment management strategies and quantitative advisory services.

As always, we encourage you to contact us to learn more about our dedicated professional staff and their efforts to provide creative, insightful investment management services.

Sincerely,

Robert G. Smith III, President & CIO

Dear Clients and Friends,

We are very pleased to announce that John Teramana has joined Sage in a senior role on our Institutional Client Service and Consultant Relations team.

John brings to Sage over 23 years of demonstrated success in investment consulting, asset allocation, and client service. He will be responsible for supporting Sage’s institutional investment solutions, with an emphasis on working with Taft-Hartley clients.

John joins Sage from NEPC, where he spent 10 years as an investment consultant serving the Taft-Hartley community. He worked closely with clients to provide asset allocation studies, manager searches, performance measurement, and various technical projects. Prior to NEPC, John was an investment operations officer at Keystate Corporate Management and on the client service team at Standish Mellon Asset Management. He received his MBA from Duquesne University and a B.S. degree in business administration from Kent State University. John is a member of the CAIA Association.

As always, we encourage you to contact us to learn more about our professional staff and their efforts to provide superior investment management services.

Sincerely,

Robert G. Smith III, President & CIO

Dear Clients and Friends,

We are very pleased to announce that Greg Cobb will be joining Sage in a senior role on our Institutional Client Service and Consultant Relations team.

Greg brings to Sage over thirty years of demonstrated success in portfolio management, business development, and leadership across a diverse set of financial organizations. He will be responsible for supporting Sage’s institutional investment solutions, with an emphasis on working with our insurance clients.

Greg joins Sage from Boyd Watterson Asset Management, where he spent 8 years as Director of Fixed income and Lead Strategist and served as a voting member of the Investment Policy Committee. Prior to that, he spent 11 years as Managing Director and Chief Investment Officer for Sovereign Advisers. Greg received his BA in Economics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

In his new position, Greg will work with members of our senior management and investment team to support our clients and expand the market awareness for our investment solutions. As always, we encourage you to contact us to learn more about our professional staff and their efforts to provide superior investment management services.

Sincerely,

Robert G. Smith, III

President & CIO

We are pleased to announce a new addition to the team, Jessica McHugh, who is joining Sage as Director of Marketing Communications. Jessica brings seven years of diverse experience in financial communications and will be responsible for shaping the overall marketing, branding, and collateral efforts of the firm. Prior to joining Sage, Jessica was an equity research analyst at a Minneapolis-based investment bank and a software reporter at the Financial Times-owned Mergermarket, in New York City. Jessica earned her M.A. degree in Business Journalism from New York University and her B.A. degree from the University of Florida.

Please join us on November 8, 2017 for Sage Advisory’s Sustainable Investing Roundup.

The Sustainable Investing Roundup is designed to bring awareness to sustainable investing issues, while providing clients and advisors with the tools necessary to invest well while doing good. The event will feature perspectives from leading asset managers, research providers, and thought leaders in the world of sustainability including BlackRock, Sustainalytics, State Street, Dell, NRG, Kasita, Bloomberg & The Sustainable Accounting Standards Board.

Sustainable Investing Roundup Agenda

Sage is pleased to announce that we have received approval by various organizations for opportunities to earn Continuing Education (CE) credits at the upcoming Sustainable Investing Roundup on November 8, 2017. Limited space remaining.

To register, please email Jessica Hernandez at jhernandez@sageadvisory.com

CFP

Sage is a CFP Board-Registered CE Sponsor and 6 hours have been accepted by the CFP Board.

CIMA , CPWA

IMCA has accepted The Sustainable Investing Roundup, for 5 hours of CE credit towards the CIMA^® and CPWA^® certifications.

AIF ®, AIFA®

Attendance at this event may be self-reported for up to 6 hours of non-fi360-produced CE for AIF® and AIFA® Designees.