May reminded investors that they need to be strategic when it comes to investing in 2019 as volatility took hold of the capital markets as the U.S.-China trade deal that was supposed to happen morphed into an impasse. 58 percent of investors have an allocation to smart beta, based on the survey of 178 asset owners. It's more than double the amount in 2015 when the same survey yielded only a 26 percent usage by investors.

May's volatility brought investors back to reality despite a 2019 that began with U.S. equities having a strong start to the year, but now economic indicators like Morgan Stanley’s Business Conditions Index are forecasting June gloom. The index identifies turning points in the economy, and fell by 32 points during the month of June to a level of 13 after hitting a level of 45 in May. This represents the largest one-month decline and the lowest level since December 2008 when the capital markets were in the thick of a financial crisis. May certainly reminded investors that they need to be strategic when it comes to investing in 2019 as volatility took hold of the capital markets as the U.S.-China trade deal that was supposed to happen morphed into an impasse.

Based on the latest report on exchange-traded fund (ETF) flow data from State Street Global Advisors, smart beta ETF inflows maintained their $4 billion in inflows during the month of June as the capital markets recovered from a volatility-laden May. "Smart beta flows continued their 2019 trend of averaging $4 billion of inflows a month," wrote Matthew Bartolini, CFA Head of SPDR Americas Research State Street Global Advisors, in the report. The previous reminded investors that they need to be strategic when it comes to investing in 2019 as volatility took hold of the capital markets as the U.S.-China trade deal that was supposed to happen morphed into an impasse.

Investors who are concerned about concentration risks associated with the traditional market capitalization-weighted indexing approach may consider alternative index strategies, such as volatility-weighted smart beta exchange traded funds that help limit potential drawdowns.