Markets can shift quickly, and understanding the tools behind index design can help you guide clients with more clarity.

How do you sort through complex crediting strategies, and what can index ratings reveal about long-term performance potential?

In this episode, Jeremy Houser speaks with Laurence Black, Founder of The Index Standard®, about how his team evaluates index construction, why volatility control remains important, and how advisors can use clearer forecasting to support client conversations. He explains how metal ratings are assigned, what drives intraday volatility control, and why diversification protects clients as trends shift. Laurence also talks about forecasting methods, expected returns across regions, and the role that transparency plays in product due diligence.

Key takeaways:

Poor performance from some of these indexes explained
How index ratings are built using 35 metrics and grouped by peer category
Why excess return structures act differently in the current rate environment
How volatility control works as an early warning mechanism
Why diversified allocations help offset recency bias
How The Index Standard® is expanding tools for FIA and IUL due diligence
And more!

Connect With Laurence Black:

Connect with Jeremy Houser:

About Our Guest:

Laurence Black is the founder of The Index Standard® and an index advisor to Robert J. Shiller, Sterling Professor Emeritus of Economics at Yale University.

Before founding The Index Standard®, Laurence was Managing Director and Head of Quantitative Indices and Strategies at Barclays, where he oversaw the development of the Barclays index family. In addition to designing some of the first smart beta/factor indices, Laurence spearheaded Barclays’ index partnerships with Professors Robert Shiller and Nouriel Roubini, as well as Novus Partners.

Before Barclays, Laurence was Head of Indices at ABN AMRO in London, where he successfully launched indices with well-known investors such as Jim Rogers and Joel Greenblatt. Before ABN AMRO, Laurence worked at Lehman Brothers, Deutsche Bank, and Credit Suisse.

Laurence holds an MBA from the University of Warwick and a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Cape Town. When not thinking about financial matters, he can mostly be found on a tennis court.

Disclosure #: 4998452 – 1225