Jon Maier is the chief investment officer at Global X, a firm that provides thematically focused exchange-traded funds, which he joined in 2017. Prior to this, Maier was a senior portfolio manager for the ETF model portfolio business at Merrill Lynch Wealth Management. He has also held positions at UBS and its predecessor, PaineWebber.
In his role at Global X, Maier is responsible for shaping the firm’s investment outlook and helping to build its range of model portfolios. To do this, he applies his intricate knowledge of overarching trends and expertise to develop a long-term picture.
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One such insight is Maier’s belief in the importance of protecting personal data and computer systems.
“A theme that's on a lot of people's minds right now is cybersecurity,” Maier tells Opto Sessions.
He points to the recent ransomware attack on the Colonial Pipeline in the US. The cyberattack resulted in the decision by CEO Joseph Blount to pay the attackers $4.4m, but not before the effects of the attack rippled out across the US.
The Colonial Pipeline attack was just one, however, as targets including hospitals and government systems have, in recent years, fallen foul of the actions of bad actors, or what Maier considers as, in a sense, “cyber terrorists”.
“Cybersecurity is a theme that really is very important and is going to continue to be with us — in both protection of our personal data, which is very important, as well as protection of our systems,” Maier suggests.
“Cybersecurity is a theme that really is very important and is going to continue to be with us — in both protection of our personal data, which is very important, as well as protection of our systems”
He states that as everything transitions more and more to being online and digital it is “just undeniable” as theme.
“While it's pulled back a little bit this year — as there's been more of a rotation towards value — … I do believe that cybersecurity is very important and relevant.”
To hear more from Maier, including how he builds model portfolios, and how to gauge ones risk profile, listen to the full episode on Opto Sessions.
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Listen to the full interview and explore our past episodes on Opto Sessions.
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