Trends Watch: Outlook for 2021

EisnerAmper’s Trends Watch is a weekly entry to our Alternative Investments Intelligence blog, featuring the views and insights of executives from alternative investment firms. If you’re interested in being featured, please contact Elana Margulies-Snyderman.  

This week, Elana talks with Jonathan Jacoby, CIO, Tabor Asset Management.

What is your outlook for alternatives?  

As with many businesses, the pandemic created opportunities for alternative investments.  I would expect there to be winners and losers.   We have used the pandemic to invest in people, systems, data and research capabilities in order to enhance our investment opportunities to look for alpha. In terms of the alternative investments industry, it’s not going anywhere. Within public equities, the stock market tends to go up over an extended period of time. However, not everyone can withstand the volatility. For example, the S&P was up 18.4% in 2020 with volatility of 36%. Investors may have a portion of their assets in long-only equity with a beta of one but they should certainly seek to have some capital in alpha-generating strategies within alternatives.

Where do you see the greatest opportunities and why?

Similar to other times in history, dislocation causes investment opportunities. At Tabor, we are excited about the opportunity to look for survivors in various industries who will have the ability to take share and improve their businesses (operationally and/or add new segments, etc.), thereby enhancing their longer-term shareholder returns.  There are some emerging themes for 2021 that we are excited about including a) a housing market that has longer and more durable strength, b) e-commerce evolving further with those other than BOPIS (Buy Online Pickup In Store) winning even more, c) the blurring of offline and online where stronger operators move towards becoming full platforms, and d) social shopping replacing the mall experience.  

What are the biggest challenges you face? 

Our strategy tends to be attractive to separately managed account (SMA) sponsors and we are seeing a lot of interest there. However, fundraising for a comingled fund remains challenging.  We are a small firm that is executing on its business plan; we just need to keep getting in front of potential fund investors.

What keeps you up at night?   

My kids.

The views and opinions expressed above are of the interviewee only, and do not/are not intended to reflect the views of EisnerAmper.