Income-seeking investors are accustomed to casting wide nets after years of low yields.
Investors focusing on climate change often overlook Chinese firms.
Investors in emerging markets (EM) have endured a decade of poor performance. But things may be changing. Based on The Economist magazine’s data comparing hamburger prices across countries, many EM currencies look cheap today—as they did 20 years ago before an extended rally of EM stocks and bonds.
Over the past few decades, investors have become conditioned to expect that rising interest rates will trigger broader US financial market crises.
ChatGPT has ignited the world’s imagination about the power of artificial intelligence (AI).
As the financial services industry has evolved away from transactions and toward financial planning, an interesting shift has happened: more couples have started showing up in advisors’ offices to discuss their investments and their financial plan.
Passive equity investing has retained its dominance and outflows from active portfolios have continued amid the market and macro shocks of the past year.
When we think about generating income for our clients, for over 30 years we’ve thought the most efficient way to do this is to blend the two key risks of fixed income into one portfolio.
European policymakers face a dilemma: continue to hike interest rates to combat inflation or ease off to stimulate growth.
Healthcare stocks have remained in vogue through volatile markets, driven by increased interest in the sector during COVID-19.
European bond-market performance was among the worst on record in 2022, as Europe ran the gamut of geopolitical, economic and market storms.
After a year defined by inflation and the policy response to it, we expect 2023 to be a year of transition.
Small-cap companies are usually the most vulnerable to volatility, with their stock prices and earnings getting hit particularly hard and early in economic downturns, much like what occurred in 2022. Yet they also tend to lead the way on both fronts during recoveries.
As global warming worries approach critical mass, corporate bond investors expect issuers to be part of the solution.
As Europe struggles with war, costly energy, record inflation and slowing growth, it’s no surprise that European corporate credit is out of favor.
In this year’s global economic crisis, no two regions are having identical experiences. While inflation rages across much of the world, price rises have been more moderate in some countries than others. Similarly, the scale of rate hikes and the degree of recession fears aren’t uniform.
With the year winding down, investors might think they’ve seen it all. But one element of market dysfunction that’s largely flown under the radar is increased friction within the US Treasury market. Treasuries are experiencing a liquidity decline on the back of economic uncertainty and higher volatility, with large blocks of government debt increasingly hard to trade.
In one of the most challenging years for markets, 2022 brought persistently high inflation, aggressive central bank tightening and heightened geopolitical risks, leaving investors with few places to hide.
After a tough year for equities, is a recovery imminent?
What a difference a decade makes!
Equity investors have sustained significant losses this year and are facing a long list of new uncertainties.
Equity valuations have fallen substantially as central banks hike interest rates to combat inflation.
The cost of prescription medicine is a constant strain for many Americans.
Equity investors are trying to figure out whether steep share-price declines have led to attractive valuations, given mounting threats to fundamental business performance. The answer varies from company to company and requires an active equity investing approach to separate winners from losers.
Technology stocks have been pummeled this year, leading some investors to question the sector’s future.
UK government bonds prices have plunged recently. Sterling-denominated corporate bonds have also fallen sharply and are looking cheap.
China's 20th National Congress could help air ideas for more growth-supportive policies.
The difficult capital markets saga of 2022 continued through the third quarter with few safe harbors as rates rose and growth slowed.
2022 has been a stormy year for bond investors, and the forecast calls for more of the same. We address today’s biggest investment challenges—from persistent inflation to rising rates to a looming recession—the silver linings of higher yields, wider credit spreads, and strategies for navigating bad weather.
Many investors are searching for assets that can help protect portfolios from inflation.
Equity market volatility persisted in the third quarter as investors came to terms with a new reality of high inflation and rising interest rates.
It’s been a tough year for investors, particularly in growth stocks.
Inflation remains persistently high, dominating everything else in the macro outlook.
While 2022 has been a challenging year for nearly every segment of the capital markets, it comes with a silver lining for income investors: higher yields.
With interest rates on the rise, the once red-hot US housing market is finally showing signs of cooling.
In a time of uncertainty, we believe that quality is the key to investing in equities.
Energy prices have been on a rollercoaster ride the past few years, and the invasion of Ukraine upended the entire supply/demand framework. The path ahead for energy—and related investment opportunities—will be defined by how today’s “power problems” are resolved. Listen to the latest from the AB Disruptor Series Podcast as Rick Brink, our Chief Market Strategist, and a panel of energy experts zero in on critical issues in the energy story.
As surging natural gas prices stoke inflation throughout Europe, policymakers are responding to both reduce the economic damage of high energy prices and clamp down on blistering inflation rates.
Energy prices have been on a rollercoaster ride the past few years, and the invasion of Ukraine upended the entire supply/demand framework. The path ahead for energy—and related investment opportunities—will be defined by how today’s “power problems” are resolved.
China has pledged to reach carbon neutrality by 2060, and state-owned enterprises (SOEs) are responsible for half the country’s CO2 emissions.
During this period of economic uncertainty and market stress, investors may be surprised to discover how a strategy targeting stocks that lose less in a downturn can beat the market over time.
Investors naturally gravitate toward higher-income segments as a way to boost traditional core bond yields.
Across the developed markets, central banks have embarked on a tightening path—with one exception: the Bank of Japan (BOJ).
The case for mid-cap stocks.
In small-cap markets, fundamental research is in short supply—and good environmental, social and governance (ESG) research is even scarcer.
The first six months of 2022 have served as a stark reminder that market outlooks can quickly shift. Advisors who want to retain business must now prepare clients for the possibility of greater volatility, abiding inflation and muted returns. Clients have many reasons to be skeptical of change and financial advisors (FAs) who don’t have these conversations now risk having painful discussions with disappointed investors. AllianceBernstein Advisor Institute’s, Ken Haman discusses key insights about human decision-making and research in behavioral finance to look at the practical challenges of managing client trust during uncertain times.
As prologues go, the first six months of this year have been a doozy.
Inflationary pressures from the COVID-19 crisis have been compounded by the surge in commodities prices sparked by the Russia-Ukraine war. In the US, the Consumer Price Index hit 9.1% year over year in June—its highest since 1982. In fact, most major economies are dealing with inflation highs not seen in decades.
Healthcare has long been considered one of the most reliable defensive sectors—an effective portfolio buffer when equity markets turn volatile.
