Active ETFs and the Shift Toward More Dynamic Portfolios: Rethinking How Advisors Can Build and Manage Portfolios – TCW – 6.8.26

Summary:

Advisors are operating in a more complex market environment where concentration has increased and outcomes beneath the index are more varied. In this session, we explore how ETFs are evolving from simple exposure vehicles to tools for more dynamic portfolio construction, and what that means for implementation, risk management, and advisor decision-making today.

You’ll gain a practical framework for evaluating active ETFs, defining their role within portfolios, and incorporating them in a measured, incremental way—without disrupting existing allocations.

What you’ll learn

• How ETFs are evolving from “wrappers” to tools for portfolio construction
• Why concentration and dispersion are changing how portfolios behave
• What advisors are delegating when using active ETFs—and what remains in their control
• Where active ETFs may add value across equities and fixed income
• How to evaluate active strategies beyond short-term performance
• Practical steps to incorporate active ETFs without a full portfolio rebuild

Accepted for 1 CFP / IWI / CFA CE Credit

Speakers:

Eric Biegeleisen is a partner and member of the 3EDGE investment committee. He served with Steve Cucchiaro on the investment committees for both Windward and Windhaven Investment Management, Inc. His research effort is focused on discovering and exploring the interconnectedness of the global capital markets through quantitative and qualitative analyses, including utilizing machine learning algorithms. He is experienced in investment modeling, implementing efficient trading practices and has significant ETF industry experience.

Prior to joining 3EDGE, Mr. Biegeleisen was the Director of Quantitative Research and Portfolio Manager at Beaumont Capital Management. He was the Chief Investment Officer and Portfolio Manager of Broadmeadow Capital, LLC an investment firm which he co-founded in 2014. Prior to this, he worked for Windhaven Investment Management as a Senior Investment Analyst and then Director of Research, leading the firm’s quantitative modeling, product due diligence and portfolio structuring. Before joining the investment industry, Mr. Biegeleisen was an engineer for General Dynamics and Textron, working to develop next-generation communications and defense solutions.

Mr. Biegeleisen has a BS in electrical engineering from Trinity College in Hartford, CT, an MS in electrical engineering from the University of Southern California, and an MBA from Boston University’s Questrom School of Business. He became a CFA^® charterholder in 2011 and is a member of the CFA Society Boston as well as the Boston Economic Club.

Mr. Dennis is Head of ETFs for TCW. In this role, he will oversee ETF Capital Markets, Portfolio Management and Trading as well as TCW’s ETF strategy and business execution. He has more than 25 years of experience in fixed income capital markets with a focus on ETFs for much of his career. Mr. Dennis joins TCW after 16 years at BlackRock in its iShares business, where he was a core member of the team that built its over $1 trillion fixed income ETF platform, focusing on ETF capital markets, distribution, and trading strategy. Most recently, he led the iShares Insurance Solutions Business, where he was responsible for growing ETF usage on insurance general account balance sheets as well as overseeing the accounting and regulatory initiatives for ETF usage across the insurance industry. During his tenure at BlackRock, he held several leadership positions in the iShares business as the Head of Wealth Capital Markets, iShares Markets Coverage and iShares Fixed Income Capital Markets. He has regularly been called upon by the New York Fed and other industry and regulatory groups to provide ETF expertise, market color, and fund flow information. Prior to BlackRock, Mr. Dennis worked at Morgan Stanley in fixed income institutional sales and trading and Bloomberg’s trading systems group. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from Lafayette College.