Equity markets advanced in the third quarter but pulled back during September. Market moves were dominated by a small group of giant US stocks. How should investors react?
Investing in businesses that strive for a better climate through decarbonization doesn’t necessarily assume a lower bar for performance. Just the opposite. Besides contributing to a healthier environment, low-carbon equity investing can also offer attractive return potential.
Guiding Defined Contribution (DC) plans through economic cycles is challenging enough without harsh headwinds from a global health crisis. But more plan sponsors are getting invaluable expert help to navigate through current challenges while keeping a long-term perspective.
What will a Trump or Biden win mean for munis? From taxes to infrastructure, the candidates differ—sometimes dramatically—on policy.
Recent history suggests that low—and even negative—yields don’t eliminate the offset to risk assets provided by government bonds.
Videoconferencing is becoming routine, mundane and overused. Here are tips for looking and sounding your best on a video call so that your audience stays engaged and you can rock that call.
Investors don’t often pay much attention to corporate culture. But cultural norms can make the difference between success and failure, especially for growth companies.
Investors are eager to buy bonds that help create a better, more sustainable world. Here’s how to navigate the evolving landscape.
Global stock markets seem to be defying the reality of recessions this year. Despite recent volatility, we think market gains for the year are more rational than perceived, given the powerful impact of stimulus and low rates on stock valuations.
The Brexit negotiations are growing more adversarial with no signs of agreement on key issues. The most likely outcomes are now the hardest and most disruptive Brexit scenarios—leading to further potential weakness for the UK’s currency.
The best reason to conduct a virtual meeting is to motivate some kind of action. This means that a well-managed meeting is always moving toward a clear and specific close. There are six steps to a meeting’s flow that will help you “keep your close on.”
A wave of policy support to stabilize the world economy has left developed nations with a growing public debt load. What path will governments follow to address the issue? History offers several debt-reduction templates.
Sovereign bonds have long been the prime defensive asset for multi-asset portfolios. But in today’s extraordinary market conditions, should investors make more extensive use of other defensive choices?
Equity investors in emerging markets (EM) typically focus on large-cap companies. But allocating to smaller companies can help broaden an EM allocation by providing a different mix of exposures to opportunities across countries and sectors—and can bring potential for higher added value.
With US elections about two months away, investors are intensifying their focus on the presidential and congressional contests. Historically, political transitions haven’t had much impact on the economy and markets, but this time could be different.
Many investors are looking for emerging signs of a return to normalcy from the coronavirus crisis. While there are many indicators to choose from, we’ve assembled a group of signals, with the help of big data, that may point the way.
As technology stocks of all shapes continue to surge, many investors are questioning whether they’re now overpriced. But even at high valuations, we think the tech landscape is still dotted with long-term growth potential.
During the coronavirus downturn and rebound, US growth stocks outpaced value stocks by a record margin. Now growth stocks seem expensive, but that depends on how you look at it.
Capital markets have rebounded from their COVID-19-induced lows, but impacted industries have lagged substantially. That pessimism may be overdone in some cases, creating opportunities for multi-asset investors to exploit dislocations.
Investors flock to municipals to meet safety, income and after-tax return goals. But investors should consider how they gain exposure to the asset class.
Interest rates are at extreme lows around the world, and they’ll likely stay low for some time. Does this mean US-based investors should revert to a US-only bond strategy?
One of the biggest differences between live and virtual meetings is the importance of visual illustrations. Virtual interactions are the perfect medium for using pictures to support a sales presentation. In fact, illustrations can make the difference between a successful encounter and a waste of time.
In a world of uncertainty, many investors choose to diversify, rather than investing in a concentrated strategy. But this year, a portfolio of just the five largest US stocks would have significantly outperformed. So, is there a way to reduce risk and to capture long-term growth in a concentrated portfolio?
Cut off from meeting in person. Reliant on videoconferencing. Trying to stay interesting and relevant. Advisors are searching for ways to be useful to clients and prospects. Here are four techniques that can help.
Cash may still be king, but cashless commerce is rapidly becoming the new king. The revolution in digitalization of commerce is already generating growth in transaction value of roughly 24 percent per year over the last three years.
Growing challenges to banks have weighed on recovery hopes for value stocks. But our research of Japan’s experience and global value trends suggests value stocks don’t necessarily need financials to turn the corner.
US household income has held steady, but only because of stimulus checks and enhanced unemployment benefits. As Congress debates the shape and scope of the next package, economic data show a clear need for more help sooner rather than later.
Government bond yields have tumbled globally but China’s yields have risen to pre-COVID-19 levels. The RMB hasn’t yet reacted to the favorable rate difference, and we think bond yields are likely to decline moving forward—a favorable landscape for China bonds.
As more companies tap government stimulus funds, questions are being asked about how shareholders may be affected. To answer these questions, investors must assess how corporate behavior and stakeholder engagement will shape a company’s long-term outlook.
Several equity factors diverged significantly from their typical performance patterns during the COVID-19 crisis. By understanding how factor returns behaved in this market correction relative to their historic norms, investors can not only prepare for future volatility but also take advantage of short-term market dislocations.
US Investment-grade corporate bond issuance has rolled past US$1 trillion so far in 2020. What are the long-term effects of this explosive borrowing?
Virtual meetings significantly reduce the role of social instincts, and attendees often feel the freedom to multitask or disengage. However, by taking a proactive approach, you can keep virtual meetings on track.
Investors increasingly want to align their financial goals with a commitment to improving the lives of others. Two recent projects showcase how municipal bond investors are making an impact.
After four days of intense negotiations, EU leaders have reached agreement on a €750 billion recovery fund to help repair the economic damage from COVID-19. It took several concessions to EU creditor countries to break the deadlock. As expected, total grants in the deal have been reduced to €390 billion from an original €500 billion proposal.
Higher-income assets underperformed in the second-quarter rebound. But that also means there’s pent-up potential in income-generating assets that may begin to show in later stages of the recovery.
In emerging markets, some industries and countries are in better shape than others. And many businesses have the right qualities to benefit from structural changes now and long after local conditions improve.
In addition to its tragic human toll, COVID-19 triggered the sharpest recession in recent history, and efforts to control its spread have transformed the way we work, the way we shop and how we connect with others. We think these changes will last awhile—with implications for asset allocation.
The Fed’s recent stress tests raised concern about solvency risks to US banks. But as second-quarter earnings season begins, investors may find that some banks are much more resilient than expected.
Virtual meetings are inherently different from face-to-face encounters, largely because they eliminate many of the social obligations that deeply influence interpersonal behaviors. Experience with conducting virtual meetings in a variety of contexts has revealed that they are typically harder to manage than live meetings.
Low yields plus rising defaults seemingly leave little ground for bond investors seeking safety or income—or both. But for investors who remain flexible, those objectives aren’t as distant as many think.
Reaching a mutually beneficial Brexit deal has so far been beyond the reach of UK and European Union (EU) negotiators. Now that COVID-19 has struck, can they avoid a damaging split?
Global equities rebounded sharply in the second quarter. But new risks are looming as companies and countries count the costs of the pandemic.
Even with today’s low yields, credit barbell strategies can still meet their objectives of downside protection, upside participation and efficient income.
The five largest US growth stocks now comprise more than a third of the Russell 1000 Growth Index. Investors should be alert to the risks of high benchmark concentration.
One simple statistic can help high-yield investors gauge how their bonds may perform down the road.
Economic fallout from the coronavirus crisis was especially hard on real estate, mostly from misperceptions that the asset class is dominated by hotels, malls and office parks. But a look inside shows a diverse group of sectors that are more pandemic resilient than investors may think.
Companies are coping with diverse challenges through the coronavirus crisis. Investors who integrate environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors into their research can gain important insights on how businesses are adapting—and how future return potential might be affected.
