Some investment strategists advocate concentrated, “best ideas” portfolios as the surest path to equity market outperformance. The premise is obvious: When a portfolio consists only of a manager’s best ideas, returns are undiluted by second-best or lesser ideas. But the
While investment losses are never easy, it is important to realize that losses exist only on paper until you sell your shares. That is why many financial advisors counsel their clients to maintain their share balances rather than sell at
The strategy maintains a focus on companies that we believe offer a positive impact today and an underappreciated impact in the future, as well as sustainability and robustness in their future earnings and cash flow growth. And our fundamental research platform and dedicated Responsible Investing (RI) team—which is focused on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues— provide …
Webinar – Naar een nieuw strategisch beleggingsbeleid? De coronacrisis stelt pensioenfondsen voor buitengewoon lastige vragen. Pensioen Pro gaat op zoek naar antwoorden in een serie interactieve live-uitzendingen. U kijkt vanuit huis (of kantoor) mee en u kunt direct reageren en
#21 A variety of publications in this week’s Top Five, please see below the best read publications: On the fifth place, Blackrock‘s Weekly Commentary “Europe bond outlook under review“: Including their weekly chart: Neuberger Berman‘s “Asset Allocation Committee Outlook 2Q20”
Webinar – Multi-Asset Diversified Income strategy update Markets have been buoyed by the fiscal and monetary policy measures announced by central banks and governments over recent weeks but the economic trough is yet to happen and the recovery will be
This paper aims to familiarize institutional investors with 130/30 (long- short “extension”) equity strategies. It addresses how these strategies were developed, why these strategies (and their variants) may be of interest to institutional investors, and how to deploy them within
Managed Futures 2019 Strategy Review It was a decent (not great) year for the many different vessels sent out to sea across the quant, managed futures, and global macro space, with CTAs enjoying their best year since 2014 – as
2019 review: Liquidity driven rally – We look back at a year full of challenges for investors as trade wars flared up again, the UK was beleaguered by Brexit, while unrest and protests elsewhere in the world kept investors on
Cross Asset Investment Strategy Bad but not so bad news left the market in a limbo: equity markets were more or less flat in the month, treasury yields remained in the 1.5 / 1.8 range and credit spreads also remained
Global Liquidity In September, equity markets were supported by further monetary stimulus around the world. The Federal Reserve carried out its second rate cut last month, while the ECB announced a new open-ended asset purchase programme starting in November. On
Investing to protect the planet's natural resources requires a deep understanding of industry's ecological footprint. Our environmental strategy has a model for that.
Strategist’s Corner In brief ■ Companies are pulling multiple non-core levers to maintain margins, but investors are becoming increasingly wary. ■ Avoiding companies with unsustainably high margins is key. ■ While the real economy is better positioned than in the
1. Our analysis examines combinations of six factors (value, low beta, profitability, investment, momentum, and size) in simple long-only, investable portfolios that reflect real-world strategies. Based on our research, these six factors produce a substantial diversification benefit across return drivers.
Sustainability, once a fringe consideration, has become a core concern for many investors. The impact companies have on the world – from climate change through to the treatment of employees – is making headlines every day. Those that adapt should
Strategy Espresso On 1 May, investors in US equities were celebrating. The S&P 500 had more than recovered all of the losses from last year’s Q4 sell-off to reach a new all-time high of 2,954. The CBOE Volatility Index (“VIX”), widely accepted
This year’s rally in risk assets came to a screeching halt in May, derailed at first by the collapse of U.S.–China trade negotiations. It was thought that a deal could emerge during the first week of the month. Instead, the
The headline growth numbers in our latest forecasts have not changed significantly since our last update in February. However, these have been boosted by a good start to the year with Q1 GDP beating expectations in the US, eurozone, UK,
Verkiezingen worden wel het feest van de democrate genoemd. In India hebben ze dat goed begrepen. De 17e natonale verkiezingen sinds de onafankelijkheid van Groot-Britannië duren maar liefst van 11 april tot 19 mei. Op 23 mei wordt de uitslag
The new measure of relationship alpha (a) can result in a more profitable wealth management firm with higher client retention and greater success in growing assets. CFA Institute publishes a rich trove of material on wealth management and professional standards.
Investors have a tendency to focus on the characteristics of their portfolios almost to the exclusion of other factors that will lead to success or failure for the larger objective that the portfolio is intended to serve. By taking into
Trend-following strategies have gone through a significant drawdown recently and delivered lower returns in the current decade compared to their multi-decade history.2 Managed futures investors are naturally wondering if something has changed and whether the strategy can deliver better returns
With equity markets strengthening and the Fed on hold there is talk of a surge, or melt-up in markets. Signs of economic recovery, low inflation and easier central bank policy in Europe and Asia reinforce the Goldilocks narrative. Macro headwinds
Strategy Espresso Markets have rallied but we haven’t seen investors go back into equities. Indeed, European-domiciled ETF flows show that fixed income was still the favoured asset class in April with $4.5 billion of inflows versus $820 million out of equity. Year to
All the risk factors delivered absolute and risk-adjusted quintile return spreads, with the low volatility, value, and high dividend portfolios generating the highest risk-adjusted return spreads. All the Chinese factor indices offered by S&P DJI, except the momentum index, generated
Central banks have used different types of forward guidance, where the forward guidance horizon is related to a state contingency, a calendar date or left open-ended. This paper reports cross-country evidence on the impact of these different types of forward
Risk & Reward Central banks have used different types of forward guidance, where the forward guidance horizon is related to a state contingency, a calendar date or left open-ended. This paper reports cross-country evidence on the impact of these different
S&P Dow Jones Indices has been the de facto scorekeeper of the ongoing active versus passive debate since the first publication of the S&P Indices Versus Active Funds (SPIVA) U.S. Scorecard in 2002. The SPIVA Europe Scorecard measures the performance
Being successful as an active investment manager requires seeking, finding, and capitalizing on inefficiencies in the market. Markets cannot be perfectly efficient because there are costs to gathering information and reflecting it in prices. Some forces push prices toward efficiency.
Gaining attention since the 1960s, following protests against the Vietnam War and becoming more widespread following a broadcast of the TV-show Zembla (March 2007) on investments of Dutch pension funds in companies associated with the production of land mines and
Strategy Espresso The European high yield market has continued to rally following a challenging end to 2018. In this week’s Espresso we highlight some key reasons for the recovery and why we foresee continued near-term support for the asset class. In
What, Exactly, Is a Factor1 ? According to BlackRock, as of June 2018 there was $1.9 trillion invested in factor-based strategies—a figure expected to grow by nearly 80% to $3.4 trillion by 20222 . There is no question that these
As business leaders manage the ever-changing economic, political, and technological landscape they face a significantly magnified exposure to risk and uncertainty. This creates a highly complex portfolio of potential risks that, if managed poorly, can lead to lost opportunities that
Index Investment Strategy European equities got off to a strong start in 2019, as the first quarter of 2019 began with a bullish bounce, recovering from the late 2018 pullback. The S&P Europe 350 gained 13% in Q1. All of
Index Investment Strategy European equities got off to a strong start in 2019, as the first quarter of 2019 began with a bullish bounce, recovering from the late 2018 pullback. The S&P Europe 350 gained 13% in Q1. All of
Fees are under pressure faster than market expected – is asset management no longer a growth sector? C-Suite must define a growth agenda to regain stock multiple. For alpha growth, look to China and Alts. Wholesale banks must restructure and
Price momentum is most commonly understood as a phenomenon in which assets that recently enjoyed high (low) returns relative to others are more likely to experience high (low) returns in the future. It is customarily implemented as a cross-sectional trading
The first quarter of 2019 began with a bullish bounce back as better-than-feared earnings reports combined with a new dovish tone at the U.S. Federal Reserve to set markets on their way to recovery. With macro concerns at the fore
How can pension trustees prepare for new requirements on the fnancial materiality of environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors? ‘ESG considerations’ mean many things to many people – not least regulators, who are now viewing them as core to the
How can pension trustees prepare for new requirements on the fnancial materiality of environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors? ‘ESG considerations’ mean many things to many people – not least regulators, who are now viewing them as core to the
Since our inception in 1931, the goal of achieving superior long-term results for our clients has shaped our distinctive investment process. An intrinsic focus on sustainability since 1931. Environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors are intrinsic to this process. A
Strategy Espresso Bloomberg has confirmed that it will add Chinese CNY-denominated bonds to the Global Aggregate, Global Treasury and Emerging Market Local Currency Government indices starting in April 2019. The announcement marks another milestone in opening up and attracting further investment
Weekly Digest Last week I listened to a prominent psychologist talk about how people perform everyday tasks. Contrary to popular belief, there are very few things people can do automatically without devoting some thought to them; try reading a book
Executive summary Applying a universal approach to property allocations can offer investors an opportunity to achieve superior risk-adjusted returns throughout the property occupancy cycle. The unique characteristics of the real estate asset class, combined with visibility on the underlying cash-flow
Yale’s Endowment generated a 12.3% return, net of fees, in fiscal 2018. Over the past ten years, the Endowment grew from $22.9 billion to $29.4 billion. With annual returns of 7.4% during the ten-year period, the Endowment’s performance exceeded its
I am pleased to be writing this foreword to NN Investment Partners’ annual responsible investing report. It has been more than 20 years since we started integrating environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria into our investment processes and launched our
Weekly Digest Whenever you do any kind of planning, there are some decisions that are more important than others. Planning for holidays, for example; selecting the destination and the time of travel might be the key drivers that will determine
Change is inevitable in the asset management industry. The fact that fund managers will move companies or retire is well established. The key is how manager transitions are dealt with, which will have an important bearing on the effect on
With the increased availability of non-cap-weighted indexes, investors can now make more efficient allocation decisions by more precisely mapping their investment goals and constraints to the strategies used to build their portfolios. This requires a deep understanding of their investment
Among pension funds and other asset owners, the appetite for small cap appears to be on the rise. The past year has seen notably greater interest in small cap equity strategies – either regional or global – from institutional investors
