High-yield bonds can generally offer more income in a very low-interest-rate world. However, if the economic or stock market outlook deteriorates, it could be a bumpy ride.
The U.S. economy improved significantly this quarter, but investors continue to face several serious risks. In late September, confirmed COVID-19 cases were rising worldwide, and the pandemic may intensify as winter approaches. A combative U.S. presidential election looms.
While the world focuses on COVID-19, there’s another virus that’s getting far less attention – the volatility virus. Investors and traders who embrace and capitalize on volatility (or “vol”) are jumping into indices that track volatility. And 2020 is surely the year to do so.
We believe paying taxes is a scenario where kicking the can down the road can actually be a good thing for taxable investors. Here’s why.
The following remarks were delivered by Ron Rhoades upon receiving the Frankel Fiduciary Prize from the Institute for the Fiduciary Standard on September 29, 2020.
In investing, as in fashion, fluctuations in attitudes spread widely without any apparent logic.
Will Danoff has been wondering why billions of dollars keep flowing out of the giant mutual fund he manages. Performance isn’t the problem; demographics appear to be.
Invesco Ltd. is looking to active, nontransparent exchange-traded funds as the next step forward for the $4.6 trillion industry, hoping the new products will be less vulnerable to traders who exploit expected changes in ETF holdings.
Imagine if you could show your clients the impact of taxes between funds and categories. Now you can. Here’s an exclusive first look at our Tax Impact Comparison Tool.
More than half the racial gap in individual stock ownership has disappeared essentially overnight.
In the revised edition of The Incredible Shrinking Alpha, Larry Swedroe and Andrew Berkin make the case that investors are better off choosing passive investments because markets have become more efficient as managers became more skilled.
Over the past few months, advisors and investors have been whipsawed by market movements and emotions have been magnified due to the pandemic. And while the term behavioral finance has often been discussed in the advisor world, the application of it into practice tends to lag.
Sierra Mutual Funds CIO Terri Spath covers the current state of the markets, and gives three possible ways to participate in investment returns while keeping a close eye on risk.
A debate rages on whether ordinary investors should have equal access to financial markets.
The Federal Reserve has changed its inflation policy. Here’s what it may mean for markets.
It’s open season on capital gains. Four ways advisors can help clients navigate potential unpleasant taxable distributions.
Evaluating the unusual characteristics of the profitability factor
Research based on Morningstar’s “globe” ratings, which measure a fund’s adherence to ESG standards, shows that most conventional funds indeed prioritize sustainability in their mandates, and that highly rated, five-globe funds don’t perform any better than one-globe funds.
Supply is getting tight. Helium is notoriously difficult and expensive to store, for the very good reason that it escapes every known container over time.
The investment grade fixed income market has been unusually active in 2020. Initial concerns about Covid-19 triggered a sharp selloff, but sentiment abruptly reversed when the Fed announced plans to purchase corporate bonds. Spreads have nearly returned to their pre-pandemic levels, but not all sectors have recovered equally, creating interesting opportunities for savvy investors.
A 60/40 portfolio of global stocks and bonds has returned a respectable 8.4% annually over the past five years, but also a heartbreaking 6.2 percentage points a year less than the S&P 500. And the difference seems to be all investors care about.
The current environment may be more uncertain and riskier than any we have seen in our lifetimes. Yet, corporate bond spreads say the future has never been more certain.
I realized that it’s been so long since I started my NewsLetter, most of you won’t know its origins. To bring you up to date, here’s the intro to the first one.
Chief Investment Officer Terri Spath discusses how the stock market continues to rise despite economic struggles, the current state of the bond market, and how our rules-based investment disciplines are navigating these unprecedented times.
A surge in stock trading and new accounts helped bring in money.
With interest rates at historically low levels, investors still have a pressing need to find reasonable income. In this upcoming webinar, Invesco’s municipal investment leaders representing mutual funds, ETFs and separately managed accounts, will discuss how advisors and investors can use different investment solutions to balance the need for income with the realities of managing risk in an uncertain climate.
This presentation will cover:
Factor-driven investing, while highly popular among equity investors, has not been as widely adopted in the bond market. But research shows that a factor-based approach to bond investing is superior to attempting to identify top-performing active bond managers.
Some of the most reluctant money managers on Wall Street are finally ready to embrace exchange-traded funds.
In recent months, investment-grade debt has experienced a ferocious rally. What’s next?
Ask yourself this question: Why do you trust someone? What is there about them that gives you that special feeling?
Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities can help protect your portfolio against rising inflation, but there are nuances you should understand.
There’s a small portion of the bond market that investors may have overlooked in the past, but should now consider—the taxable municipal bond market.
Investors love ETFs, especially during these uncertain times.
We’ll start with a dozen or so charts showing the market is either very highly valued, or extremely overvalued, or merely stretched. But in general, you will see markets are indeed at the upper end of historical valuations. Then we’ll consider some reasons why this is so, and why stocks could even go higher.
In March, at the height of panic selling, investors pulled $326 billion from mutual funds and ETFs. Although it ended more than decade ago, the global financial crisis was the last real bear market.
Investors must balance ongoing risks of the coronavirus against the extra yield the bonds provide.
As China’s equity markets gradually open up to foreign investors, Chinese companies could face greater scrutiny, according to Franklin Templeton Emerging Markets Equity’s Michael Lai. He weighs in on some emerging trends he’s seen in regard to environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues there.
The latest disposal comes as corporate insiders, whose buying accurately signaled the market bottom in March, are now mostly sellers.
Democrats in New York, the world’s financial capital, may finally have the right moment to resurrect the state tax on stock trades.
In the era of social distancing, technology has become even more integrated into our personal and professional lives. We believe this trend will persist even after the pandemic passes, and we expect it will particularly benefit firms that support remote working arrangements and eCommerce, two areas where we anticipate accelerating adoption and sustained growth.
This review will explore why passive investing may not provide the bargain most advisors think they are getting for their clients. This is especially important as most managers have underperformed their benchmark YTD with such cyclical market performance. Although difficult to find, investors should still seek out skilled managers that stick to quality investment philosophy and process.
After an extremely eventful first half of the year, the key to managing through is understanding what has happened and why.
Imagine telling clients you’re their guru, guide and gladiator. Learn a simple framework to help articulate your distinctive value.
The most watered-down smart-beta ETFs have attracted the most money.
Precious metals were the big winners for the first six months of 2020. Spot gold took the first place position, rising over 17 percent, followed in second place by silver, up nearly 2 percent. Palladium rounded out the top three, essentially flat at negative 10 basis points.
The first half of 2020 was dominated by the COVID-19 pandemic, which hit the municipal bond market hard. State and local governments experienced a sharp and sudden drop in revenue, and an increase in expenses, amid stay-at-home orders and business shutdowns.
Over the last quarter, the “Death of Fundamentals” has become apparent as investors ignore earnings to chase market momentum. However, throughout history, such large divergences between fundamentals and price have resulted in low future returns. This time is unlikely to be different.
The pandemic has delivered a global growth shock, but in doing so, it has accelerated the timeline for several mega trends that we have been actively investing in, such as productivity enhancement (robotics, automation, and software), e-commerce, electronic payments, and health care.
The flows strike a blow for Vanguard in the increasingly fierce battle to dominate a more than $4 trillion market.
While the “annuity puzzle” is well-documented in the academic literature, there is no “mutual fund puzzle.”
