President & Chief Investment Officer, Cohen Steers
Search every verified John Cheigh interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote — each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. Jon Cheigh, President and Chief Investment Officer at Cohen & Steers, appeared on NYSE TV Live on February 17, 2025, to discuss the firm's launch of three new active exchange-traded funds (ETFs) focused on real estate, preferred securities, and natural resource equities. Cheigh stated that the firm, which he described as a specialist asset manager in real assets and alternative income since 1986, had not previously offered active ETFs. He said the launch was in response to investor demand and that the firm aims to offer a more global opportunity set than existing strategies. Cheigh advised investors to focus on long-term portfolio positioning rather than short-term market movements, citing the firm's research on "FOMO Reversals of Fortune" which he said shows that following recent winners is not a good strategy. He characterized valuations in real estate, natural resource equities, and preferreds as having repriced and become attractive, while noting that U.S. equities have become less attractive after strong recent performance. Cheigh also commented that the recent rise in interest rates has hurt some of the firm's asset classes but is now in the past, and that factors such as immigration and tariffs are not expected to have significant negative impacts on real estate, infrastructure, or preferred securities.
“For those that don't know Cohen & Steers, we're a specialist asset manager really focused on real assets and alternative income. We've been doing this since 1986 and just celebrated our 20-year anniversary as a public company. We're market leaders in these areas, and investors know us well.”
“We haven't had active ETFs before, and many investors have said they love what we do but would love to see it in an active ETF form. That's why we're excited to launch three new active ETFs in areas we're known for: real estate, preferreds, and natural resource equities.”
“I tell people not to worry about tomorrow or next week because no investor can predict the next five days correctly. Instead, focus on where you want your portfolio to be in the next 2, 5, or 10 years. The worst thing is to just look back at what worked in the last five years.”
“We've done research called FOMO Reversals of Fortune showing a perfect track record that simply following the last 10 years' winners is not a good solution. Instead, focus on where valuations are attractive, like real estate, natural resource equities, and preferreds, because valuations have repriced.”
“Equities, particularly in the US, have done well over the last 3 to 5 years, but valuations have become less attractive. For us, it's not about past performance but what we think these assets can deliver given current valuations.”
“We have a long-term track record of delivering outperformance in real estate, preferreds, and natural resource equities. Unlike large-cap equities where active managers often haven't delivered, these are areas where we have consistently generated alpha, which ultimately matters for investors.”
“Our US and preferred strategies will have a broader universe than currently exists, with a more global opportunity set. We have big investment teams and believe these global opportunities can benefit end investors.”
“The big rise in interest rates over the last few years has hurt some of our asset classes more than others, but that's now in the rearview mirror. Things like immigration and tariffs are factors to consider, but for what we do, they won't have big negative impacts on real estate, infrastructure, or preferreds.”
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