Fifth Third Wealth Advisors CIO Chris Osmond overweights real assets as growth and inflation rise

Fifth Third Wealth Advisors is overweighting real assets in an economy it reads as rising growth and rising inflation. CIO Chris Osmond says he is very bullish on infrastructure, in a Q&A published Oct. 16 by WealthManagement.com.

The $7.8 billion RIA launched in 2022 as a wholly owned subsidiary of Fifth Third Bank. Osmond told the publication the firm starts from a four-quadrant framework that labels an economic regime by growth and inflation, then sets portfolio posture accordingly.

Each quadrant produces a different stance. Risk-on when growth rises and inflation falls; overweight real assets when growth and inflation both rise, which Osmond described as similar to today's conditions; no long duration and more market hedges when growth falls and inflation rises; and longer duration with a defensive tilt when both fall. Real assets, he said, tend to perform well in inflationary environments and when growth is rising too.

The average Fifth Third Wealth Advisors household holds about $9 million, a level Osmond said leaves the firm with 'a lot of qualified purchasers.' Client ages run from the mid-to-late 40s through baby boomers who are either pre-retired or already retired. That household size gives the firm's advisors more room for higher-yielding but riskier private-market investments, provided clients have the appetite for risk, according to the article.

WealthManagement.com frames rising yields as the biggest risk in Osmond's outlook. Osmond said geopolitics and the rising cost of capital could shape how the firm allocates. Portfolios pair a strategic allocation built over a three- to five-year horizon with a tactical overlay of six to 12 months, in a core-satellite construction.

PWD's records put the RIA at 2,121 accounts and 83 employees as of Oct. 10, alongside the same $7.8 billion in regulatory assets. That works out to about $3.7 million per account, well under the $9 million household average, which suggests most households hold more than one account.