Teach portfolio construction with a forward-looking perspective
Bring investment theory into practical use. Forward Portfolio helps students explore how expected returns, risk, and diversification can shape a portfolio using forward-looking inputs alongside an understanding of historical market behavior.
Learn by testing assumptions
A forward-looking investment process encourages students to ask questions such as:
How do expected returns influence portfolio weights?
How can market-implied volatility inform risk analysis?
What happens when correlations change?
How sensitive is a portfolio to different assumptions?
How can investors evaluate a strategy as expectations and market conditions evolve?
A companion book for the classroom
Pair hands-on portfolio exercises with Back to the Future Portfolios: A Forward Looking Approach to Stock Selection, Portfolio Construction, Risk and Return by Norm G. Miller, PhD, Michael Sklarz, PhD, and Stefan Pampulov.
The book provides supporting classroom literature on forward-looking stock selection and portfolio construction. It gives students and instructors a shared resource for discussing how expectations, risk, and return can inform investment decisions.
Turn investment concepts into hands-on learning
Forward Portfolio gives educators a practical way to introduce portfolio construction and analysis. Students can explore how forecasts, volatility, and relationships among assets influence portfolio decisions.
Examine forward-looking assumptions
Compare portfolios built with different expectations and see how changing assumptions may affect construction and potential outcomes. Discuss where forecasts come from, how they can change, and why that matters.
Make risk and diversification visible
Show how relationships among assets influence portfolio risk. Students can examine how diversification may behave as correlations and market conditions change.
Support projects and classroom discussion
Use portfolio examples as a starting point for assignments, case studies, presentations, and group discussions. Students can explain their assumptions and evaluate how different inputs affect a portfolio.
Build skills for investment careers
Introduce students to portfolio analysis and decision-making methods used in areas such as wealth management, asset management, financial planning, and investment research.
Designed for educators and learners
Forward Portfolio and the book can support courses and programs in:
Investments and portfolio management
Monitor asset allocation, track performance, and rebalance portfolios with precision.
Financial planning and wealth management
Create comprehensive financial plans and manage wealth across multiple accounts.
Applied finance and capital markets
Analyze market trends and apply theoretical models to real-world financial data.
Student-managed investment funds
Hands-on learning for students to manage real funds and apply investment strategies.
Business and economics
Teach fundamental business principles and economic theories in an interactive way.
Bring a forward-looking perspective to your curriculum
Give students a practical way to explore how portfolios are constructed—and how investment decisions may change as expectations and market conditions evolve.
Frequently Asked Questions
Forward Portfolio is developed by Investing Analytics LLC, founded by Dr. Michael Sklarz, Dr. Norm Miller and Stefan Pampulov. Dr. Sklarz is credited as one of the early founders of the automated valuation model (AVM) used in residential appraisal and is an expert in data and analytics. Through his company, Collateral Analytics, LLC, Dr. Sklarz licensed his AVM, as well as other derivative analytic products, to the financial industry, which included the largest banks in the United States. Collateral Analytcs was sold to Black Knight, Inc. in 2020, which was subsequently acquired by ICE, the Intercontinental Exchange, a financial services company in 2023. Dr. Norm Miller was an esteemed faculty member at the University of San Diego in its real estate program. Dr. Miller was a high-recognized professor and the Ernst Hahn Chair of Real Estate Finance at USD. Prior to joining USD, Dr. Miller was the academic director and the founder and center director of the real estate program at the University of Cincinnati. Stefan Pampulov was a co-founder at Collateral Analytics and managed product development and innovation.
No. Investing Analytics does not manage investments, except for its own accounts. We provide investor tools for money managers and sophisticated investors that manager their own accounts. We provide sample model portfolios based on styles, but do not consider the unique tax circumstances, or specific investor timing desired. Our analysis looks out one year. Short term or day traders will not find our tools very useful. We believe longer term investors and money managers will find our tools useful.
Investing Analytics LLC developed Forward Portfolio initially for its own use to manage its own investment portfolio. Drs. Sklarz and Miller leveraged their decades of analyzing big and disparate data sets to stock investing, including utilizing machine learning models and AI. A research team has now been assembled that is constantly improving the forward-looking valuation models. While other stock screening tools are available that provide similar filters, our tools use forward looking target returns rather than historical returns, forward looking volatility and forward-looking correlations. It is also one of the few if not the only application that combines current stock return data within a portfolio framework that provides the minimum expected risk combination of stocks for any given return target. One can view these tools as modern portfolio theory modernized, including using machine learning tools for analytics.
We include most stocks on the major US exchanges, i.e. Dow Jones, Nasdaq 100 and S&P 500. In total, approximately 4,000 stocks make it into the Forward Portfolio initial filters. From this list we further focus on those with sufficient investor interest to be able to generate implied forward-looking volatilities and target returns one year out.
No. In order to include a stock within our portfolio framework, we need at least two years of history. Therefore new and some microcap stocks will not be part of our universe.
Our intuitive user interface will quickly let a user screen for investments with the highest potential return, based on the user’s acceptable risk level, to generate an optimized portfolio. Filters allow the user to focus on the user’s risk level and the user’s return targets to match the user’s investment objectives, risk tolerance and goals. More explanation is provided in the user guide questions and videos.
Forward Portfolio is best utilized by intermediate to experienced investors, such as money managers and experienced investors. Novice investors could also utilize Forward Portfolio, but will need to understand the basic concepts of investing, such as volatility, price to earnings ratio, etc. and their effects on stock price. Forward Portfolio is also best utilized with a variety of other tools and data sources to ensure that the most appropriate investment decisions are made for each user. Tax considerations are not part of our analysis, but should be considered before an investor sells a stock already owned. For example, a stock with a nice gain in price should not be sold a few days before it becomes qualified as a capital gain versus income, taxed at a higher rate. These considerations should be considerations by money managers that might use the Forward Portfolio.
We allow a 60-day trial for new users that provides access to the first level tier. Money managers will pay about $89 a month down to $49 a month for more limited applications, with annual paid discount of 20%. See current pricing on the website.
