At a time of cheap money and booming stock markets advisors face a daunting task, as some fear the stage seems set for volatility that could destroy clients’ current income.

EQIS Capital, however, feels it has a product that addresses this fear. The fee-based turnkey asset management platform (TAMP), with about $2 billion in assets under management, is offering two new income model portfolios: EQIS Allocation Scientifically Engineered (EAS-E) Strategic Income Portfolio and Dynamic Distribution Strategy. They go along with a half dozen other similar portfolio products.

EQIS officials say these EAS-E portfolios are designed to provide a steady income in both bull and bear markets by principally using tactically managed, domestic, high-yield securities.

Joel T. Bennett, EQIS vice president for business strategy, said most products providing income and distributions are inadequate. They are not offering participation in bull markets as well as protection against bear markets. “They don’t meet the needs of clients; they are antiquated and haven’t kept with today’s technology,” he said.

EAS-E is an innovative approach, said Bennett.

“I don’t know of another portfolio like this in the marketplace. It makes a very nice complement to the other methodologies, giving us a boost in yield and adding diversification,” Bennett said.

EQIS officials argue that EAS-E will follow a buying and selling discipline that will allow the portfolio to participate in bull markets but at the same time prepare for several years of bear markets.

The strategy will help advisors “simplify their practice in the income management and distribution area, especially in this uncertain market environment,” said Scott Winters, co-founder and CEO of EQIS Capital.

The portfolio products, which are available for accounts with a minimum of $25,000, is designed for advisors “who recognize just how hard it is to beat institutional investing,” said Bennett. Several studies, he added, show institutional investing is more consistent and outperforms individual investing over the long term.

The Strategic Income portfolio will use domestic, high-yield equities, EQIS officials say. Other parts of the portfolio will include real estate commodities and specific industrial sectors. The fixed-income part of the portfolio will have preferred stocks, foreign fixed income, domestic corporate bonds and U.S. treasuries. The income model has five variations: conservative, moderate conservative, moderate, moderate aggressive and aggressive.

The effect of this approach, EQIS officials contend, is a portfolio that can capture substantial upside gains but also protect on the downside. The goal is to provide a portfolio that obtains double-digit yield while maintaining liquidity that protects against bear markets.

The EAS-E strategy calls for using smart distribution technology in up markets. That means, EQIS officials added, using cash on hand first, then selling securities that are overweighted according to targets. The highest priced tax lots of each security are sold first to gain tax efficiency.

When markets are headed down, the portfolio will employ tactical distributions. Here it will use assets that are in a fixed-income portfolio designed for income and preservation of capital, EQIS officials said. These assets will be used to prevent having to sell depreciated assets to provide needed income.

“So, even if a bear market or a stock market correction occurs,” added Kenneth Kim, EQIS chief economist and financial strategist, “the plan is for there to be enough money in the tactical distribution bucket to cover a client’s monthly expenses for two years.”