Team Name: The Stackman | Casriel Group
Firm: UBS Private Wealth Management
Senior Members: Scott Stackman, Lyle Casriel, Larry Evans, Matthew Klein
Location: New York, NY
Team Custodied Assets: $9.5 billion
Background: Natives of Long Island and Manhattan, respectively, Scott Stackman and Lyle Casriel have worked together for nearly two decades. Stackman first got his chops as an advisor working at Lehman, where he spent a decade before leaving to join UBS in 2008. Casriel, meanwhile, joined Lehman as an intern in 2005 where he first met Stackman and joined UBS a few months after him. Now with 18 members in total, their team uses a high touch, high service approach when working with the 80 families that they cover. “We spend a lot of time trying to develop our team and create that experience where everyone knows every client,” says Casriel.
Competitive Edge: “So much of investing today is commoditized: The way we have to differentiate ourselves is by where we can create alpha—and we do that through the experience and advice we give beyond investing,” says Stackman. “Sometimes that is trust and estate work, sometimes it is with investments or a lot of times it is through alternatives.”
Investment Philosophy/Strategy: The team takes a bespoke endowment model approach when it comes to building client portfolios, aiming to make them all-weather and durable. On the equities side, this translates into a combination of tax loss harvesting in a more passive portfolio complemented by a smaller percentage of active managers and long only equity. “Fixed income over the last ten years hasn’t done much,” says Stackman. “We started adding duration late last year as rates were spiking, but for the most part, the alternatives space has created a lower volatility, higher return for clients.”
Investment Outlook: “Most clients are sitting on gains right now with a lot of cash on the sidelines,” says Stackman. “We’re trying to be smart and tactical in how we enter the market.” That includes using structured products with protection on the downside or selling puts secured by T-bills, for instance. The team expects that as rates come down, deal flow will improve, which means private equity will also be a great place to put clients’ money. “We’re cautiously optimistic as a whole,” says Casriel. “Equity valuations are not cheap but the earnings outlook and rate environment seem favorable.” He adds that single-digit stock market returns look likely next year: “Clients are used to double digit returns, but going forward that’s going to be increasingly difficult to do,” he says. “While the Federal Reserve is likely to lower interest rates in its next few meetings, the likelihood of skipping a rate cut is also growing.”
Best Advice: “When it comes to clients, we first make sure we understand what their objectives are and then try to remove emotion from the decision making process,” says Stackman. “It’s about making sure they trust us implicitly and if they call us, they know we will get to the bottom of things.”