A review of last month’s market-moving events across countries and asset classes.
In the U.S., between one quarter and one third of all assets managed are done so with an ESG or SRI mandate. Outside the U.S., that percentage is even higher. The Vitium Global Fund, formerly the Vice Fund, buys what most ESG/SRI investors scorn, stocks in the tobacco, alcoholic beverage, gaming and aerospace/defense industries.
Fear among bond investors is focused on rising rates, but Jeffrey Gundlach says you should worry about something more sinister. In his webcast yesterday, he also offered his updated 2020 presidential election prediction.
Central bank easing and the cooling China-U.S. trade war have set the scene for a global economic rebound in 2020. Our forecast pushes the risk of recession into late 2021, giving equity markets modest upside potential for 2020.
Considering investment outsourcing? Our CFO weighs in on key and peripheral issues to contemplate.
While the bulls are certainly hoping the “cash hoard” will flow into U.S. equities, the reality may be quite different.
U.S. stocks continue to trade near their all-time highs but recent hiccups in trade talks have re-emphasized that a deal remains elusive, decisively unpredictable, and incomplete. Key components of the first phase have yet to be put in writing and major structural issues—such as intellectual property theft and forced technology transfers—will remain unaddressed for the foreseeable future, confirming that little-to-no material progress has been made.
One of the best ways to “supercharge” your gold position is with precious metal royalty and streaming companies. Think Franco-Nevada, Wheaton Precious Metals, Royal Gold and others.
We don’t have much time to get our house in order, either in the US or globally. Everything I’ve said today applies, to various degrees, throughout the developed world. Thinking that 2% inflation or zero interest rates coupled with massive deficits will somehow help is beyond wishful thinking.
Improvements in accessibility are expected to accelerate further inclusion in the near term.
With the third quarter of 2019 reporting season mostly behind us, we can take a look at what happened with earnings to see what’s real, what’s not, and what it will mean for the markets going forward.
From September 10-12, a select group of our investment managers, economists and strategists congregated in London for our annual Global Investment Forum (GIF). The GIF is designed to tune out the day-to-day market noise and focus on key market drivers over the medium term.
Few of us realize the anxiety-ridden mindset that drives prospects to seek a financial advisor. If they did, they would structure their initial meetings very differently.
The venerable investor Warren Buffett has a real knack of putting complex concepts and ideas into simple and easily understood terms. In my opinion, his quote, “Price is what you pay. Value is what you get” is one of the more profound and important statements he has ever uttered.
What steps are needed to help build a successful portfolio? One of our divisional directors shares his perspective.
What will investors be talking about in 2020? We explain how six key issues could shape the global economy and financial markets next year.
With many investors seeking to diversify their equity exposure as the U.S. bull market charges into its historic 10th year, asset managers are now providing innovative and cost-effective SMA offerings that provide US investors access to the full breadth of the emerging market universe; a feature not previously available.
As a seasoned and grizzled veteran of the financial services industry for now going on 50 years, the most commonly asked questions I have received, and still do to this day, are: when to buy and when to sell a stock?
As Russ explains, the evolution of the consumer, still a pillar of the markets, has major implications for investors.
As Thanksgiving comes to an end, and the busy holiday shopping season begins, here are some need-to-know numbers you may have missed from this past week.
I have some time-honored advice that may help. Both Dennis Gartman and Bob Farrell are legendary traders, and they kindly shared the rules they’ve found most helpful. I know they help me. So read these, and I’ll have a few more words below.
Like particles in a super collider, opposing forces of American culture smashed together this past weekend on a historic football field in Connecticut. And like a physics experiment, the resulting impact shed light on the state of the country and provides us all with a ready framed discussion for the Thanksgiving weekend.
During the interview process, a job candidate I liked very much talked about another offer she was considering and mentioned one of the benefits was “unlimited paid time off.”
In 1936, John Maynard Keynes penned his work The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money. Most of the work was trying to strike against the consensus of economics. Many in the intellectual communities of the west believed in the classical theory of economics.
Models can help advisors streamline portfolio management while retaining the level of discretion appropriate for their practice.
Although the PMI report is encouraging, there’s still reason to remain somewhat cautious long-term. The latest accounting of global debt levels was just released, and the news might be so bad that it’s good—for gold prices, at least.
In the bond market, staying positive is easier said than done.
Should just being “employed” make people/workers happy? On one level, any job is better than no job. But we also derive much of our identities and self-esteem from our work. If you aren’t happy with it, you’re probably not happy generally. Unhappy people can still vote and are often easy marks for shameless politicians to manipulate. Their spending patterns change, too. So it ends up affecting everyone, even those who are happy.
A 45 Year History of One Family’s Success
A wave of volatility may knock back a passive fund, but active managers can nimbly assess the situation.
Here’s how you can radically accelerate your success, get back your time and freedom and build a wildly successful practice and life that you love.
There’s an old adage called “climbing a wall of worry” that’s used to describe a situation where markets continue to climb in the face of uncertainties. Certainly there is no shortage of uncertainties today, yet US stocks have clawed their way to new all-time highs. Franklin Equity Group Portfolio Manager Grant Bowers recognizes there may be a few cracks emerging, but says there are still two main reasons to be optimistic about the outlook, and believes there is still room for US equities to run in 2020.
I would derive such immense pleasure from lighting a match to the website of every single advisor in this profession and watching it burn down to the ground.
We take for granted the Federal Reserve’s unique powers that, like that of other central banks, include being the sole issuer of currency. But those powers were not always so, and their origin traces to the foresight of Alexander Hamilton.
We have argued recently that since almost nobody is worried about inflation, there are wonderful opportunities for investments which would benefit from the crowd being wrong.
The media’s inequality narrative completely ignores the fact that the global demonstrations are, at the end of the day, in response to government incompetence and failed socialist policies.
European stocks have outperformed US equity markets in recent months, after several years of underperformance. Is this the start of a longer trend? It’s too soon to say, but some unfolding developments could signal a reversal of fortune for a long-unloved asset class.
It’s hard to believe now, but the very first Singles Day in 2009 generated only about $7 million for Chinese mega-retailer Alibaba. No one could have guessed then that, 10 years later, the 24-hour shopping event would see that sales figure surge to an all-time record of $38.4 billion, an unbelievable multiple of 5,471.
Nearly every aspect of the advisory industry is undergoing some form of transformation today—spelling an opportunity for those advisors who are committed to continuously evolving their approach.
The Fed has signaled it is unlikely to cut interest rates again in December, but we expect further rate cuts next year. We believe the Fed has not yet done enough to protect the economy against headwinds. While we don’t forecast a US recession, we think additional monetary policy easing will be needed to stabilize growth.
During Q3 2019, “haven” assets were strongest among the primary asset classes. This followed a similar pattern from the second quarter.
As two recent commentaries demonstrate, in their zeal to promote their agendas, asset managers are claiming that the humble 60/40 portfolio is doomed to the dustbin. But their analysis is flawed. The 60/40 will outlive us all.
Advisor Perspectives has announced its Venerated Voices™ awards for commentaries published in Q3 2019.
Economic policy uncertainty and trade conflict may linger, but without a US recession, I do not anticipate significant further slowing in global growth.
If you’re an advisor looking to differentiate your practice from others, consider this article to be your first step toward a better understanding of impact investing.
I have been studying ways of fighting major crises around the world for the last 30 years ever since I lived through one of the most devastating economic, social, and political crises in the history of the 20th century.
Today, ESG issues may be more prominent in investors’ minds and approaches, but quality investors have been asking these questions for some time.
This is an absolute monarchy we’re talking about, after all, and so global investors should not expect to have any shareholder rights. Aramco’s board of directors will have a fiduciary duty to MBS and any future monarch, not to investors. This has some serious implications.
Today I want to focus on that “entering a rough period” part. The signs are growing clearer and the bumps bigger.
