Invesco Balanced-Risk Allocation Fund (ABRCX) has $1.6 billion in assets and has returned 9.44% year-to-date. The fund has earned a 5-star rating from Morningstar and returned 11.72% annually during the 3 years ending 9/26/2012, beating the Morningstar Moderate Target Risk category by 2.69% a year.

The AQR Risk Parity Fund (AQRNX), launched in late 2010, bested the same category in 2011--a 5.13% return versus 0.59%, and is up 11.34% YTD, versus the category return of 8.47%. The Putnam Dynamic Risk Allocation Fund (PDRFX) is up 11.40% YTD.

And the Managers AMG FQ Global Essentials Fund (MMAVX), which launched in January 2010 and currently has $128.7 million in assets, has returned 8.23% YTD. Morningstar says its 3-year annualized performance is 9.36%, versus a category average of 7.43.

The expense ratios for these funds range from 1.26% to 2.15%. Although they are more expensive than balanced funds, the mix of stocks, bonds, commodities and currencies makes them closer to alternative products in portfolio composition, and their expenses compare favorably to other alternative-themed funds.

Risk-parity funds can be used as supplements to core portfolios, adding multiple asset class exposure and increasing diversification while maintaining moderate risk targets. For advisors considering expanding asset class exposure, these funds offer an intriuging and comprehensive approach. That is, if they had a clear idea how to position them.

"It [the risk-parity strategy] is evolving, and it's hard to know where to exactly place it in investor portfolios," Charlson says. "So that's one of the challenges in terms of the role it fulfills."

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