Matthew Bartolini, Head of SPDR Americas Research, State Street, met with Julie Cooling, Founder & CEO, RIA Channel to discuss portfolio construction as well as the firm’s emphasis on lowering total costs. In today’s world, the multitude of investment products makes it difficult to know “what lies beneath the surface,” explains Bartolini on portfolio construction. He says that only once you “break through the wrapper” can you see “where you’re concentrated and where you’re not allocated to.” In addition to research and portfolio reviews, State Street has made a big push to lower the total costs associated with ETFs. “We recently relaunched 15 ETFs and cut expenses by an average of 6 basis points … in this low-yield environment, every basis point counts,” believes Bartolini.