Michelle Butler
Senior Portfolio Specialist
28 years of experience
Senior Vice President, is a Real Assets Portfolio Specialist for Cohen & Steers, specializing in Global Listed Infrastructure, Midstream Energy, and Commodities. Her primary responsibility is articulating the investment teams’ process, positioning, and investment outlook with investors, consultants, and colleagues. Prior to joining the firm in 2013, Ms. Butler was the Portfolio Specialist for the Active Commodities strategy at GE Asset Management, where she worked for 14 years in various product development and client service roles. Ms. Butler began her investment career in securities lending at the Bank of New York and UBS. Ms. Butler has a BA from Providence College and is based in New York. She is the holder of Series 3, 7, and 63 FINRA certifications.
Insights by Michelle Butler
Maintaining a strategic allocation to real assets
Senior Portfolio Specialist Michelle Butler spoke with Portfolio Adviser for a video interview about how a diversified real assets allocation may benefit investors in the new macroeconomic regime characterized by higher interest rates and inflation compared to the previous decade.
Secular drivers of inflation
Recent data indicates a slowing inflation trend, yet risks persist. Secular forces suggest that a prolonged elevated inflation period is underway with the potential for periodic price spikes. Factors driving long-term inflation include commodity underinvestment, tight labor markets, geopolitics, deglobalization and fiscal uncertainty. We see parallels to past inflationary eras, which highlight the difficulty of controlling inflation. While not predicting a return to 9%, the expectation is for a decade of higher-than-accustomed inflation, underscoring the importance of having a real assets allocation.
Defending against sustained inflation with real assets
We believe markets have transitioned to a new regime of slow growth and elevated inflationary risks. It’s an environment we believe warrants diversification and inflation mitigation. And it’s precisely the role that we feel real assets can fulfill. Watch why we think we are in a period of secular stagflation and what role real assets can play.
