September 11, 2019 Searching for Financial Sustainability for Faith-Based Nonprofits by Clare Golla Despite differences in ideology, practice, location, and size, many religious organizations face the same challenges. Shifts in generational demographics, declines in religious affiliation, and changes to tax legislation are driving declines in giving. At the same time, these financial challenges are exacerbated by another issue: the cost to maintain (often aging) real estate holdings. These costs are increasing at a pace, in some cases, more rapid than revenue declines. Endowments & Foundations, Wealth Planning Likes 0 SHARE Bookmarks
September 05, 2019 The Investor’s Survival Guide to a Long Life by Kent Hargis, Sammy Suzuki, Aditya Monappa Rejoice—people around the world are living longer! But pause the festivities—that means they need more retirement money. To ensure they don’t run out of cash, savers need to adjust their investment strategies as their needs change, both before and after retiring. Asset Allocation, Equities, Multi-Asset, Volatility, Women & Wealth Likes 0 SHARE Bookmarks
September 04, 2019 Three Ways to Manage Fixed-Income Liquidity Risk by Markus Peters, Flavio Carpenzano Liquidity risk grabbed headlines this summer on the heels of several high-profile fund implosions. The hunt is now on to find ways to manage market liquidity risk and to protect portfolios against liquidity crunches. We’ve pinpointed three essential practices. Fixed Income, Volatility Likes 0 SHARE Bookmarks
September 03, 2019 Are We Closer to a Recession Post-August? by Matthew D. Palazzolo, Christopher Brigham To help us assess the macroeconomic environment and put the recession fears into perspective, we look at our dashboard, which continuously monitors numerous metrics that provide insights into the health of the economy. Today, five metrics are particularly telling. Capital Markets Outlook, Economics Likes 0 SHARE Bookmarks
August 26, 2019 Should You Leave Your Retirement Accounts in a Trust? by Robert Dietz, Jennifer Couturier-Ostberg Retirement plan assets are becoming an ever-increasing portion of household wealth—nearly 28% of total US net worth is held in IRAs or other retirement vehicles.* These assets—reaching over $27 trillion at the end of 2018*—are complicating basic estate planning as individuals struggle with how best to structure them to minimize taxes for beneficiaries. At the heart of the discussion is deciding if they should be left in a trust or to individual beneficiaries. Wealth Planning Likes 0 SHARE Bookmarks
August 22, 2019 Combining Big Data and a Human Touch for Equity Insights by Nelson Yu, Christopher Hogbin Figuring out how to use big data is the next frontier for the asset-management industry. Equity investors must have the right culture—and ask the right questions—to successfully integrate data science into research and investment processes. Equities Likes 0 SHARE Bookmarks
August 14, 2019 Why Today’s Inverted Yield Curve Isn’t Necessarily a Recession Warning by Erin Bigley, Chris Marx The most closely watched part of the US yield curve inverted this week for this first time since 2007, suggesting that a recession may be around the corner. We’re not convinced that’s true. Active & Passive , Equities, Fixed Income, Trade Wars, Volatility Likes 1 SHARE Bookmarks
August 14, 2019 Don’t Fear Illiquidity (Embrace It!) by Alexander Chaloff Illiquid alternatives are investments that are not easily traded or exchanged and where investors do not have access to their capital for years. In fact, some alternatives hold investors’ capital for as long as a decade. That’s one of the reasons some investors shy away from them. The long lock-up worries investors, especially when the markets turn down. But is that fear justified? In a word: No. Illiquidity should not be feared—for three reasons. Alternatives, Asset Allocation Likes 0 SHARE Bookmarks
August 07, 2019 China’s Currency Weakness: Not as Bad as it Seems—Yet by Mo Ji China’s currency depreciated this week, with the exchange rate rising to more than 7.0 renminbi per US dollar, unnerving investors and markets worldwide. Here’s the good news: we don’t think the renminbi will continue to weaken at the same pace. Currency, Economics, Trade Wars Likes 0 SHARE Bookmarks
August 05, 2019 Is a New Front About to Open in the US-China Trade War? by Eric Winograd Financial markets are focused on the ongoing trade war between the US and China—which goods and services are in play and what measures are being taken or threatened in each case. But the trade conflict could spill over into currency markets—and that’s a risk that bears watching. Currency, Economics, Trade Wars Likes 0 SHARE Bookmarks
July 31, 2019 Midyear Municipal Outlook: Stay Flexible Late in the Cycle by Daryl Clements Municipal bonds have had a good run since the beginning of the year, but there’s still room for additional positive performance in 2019. That’s particularly true for investors who choose active strategies with the flexibility to move money around the bond market as conditions evolve. Fixed Income, Later in the Cycle, Municipals Likes 1 SHARE Bookmarks
July 31, 2019 US Corporate Cash Is Down—Will Stocks Follow? by Sharat Kotikalpudi, Caglasu Altunkopru The recent decline in US corporate cash hasn’t raised a lot of eyebrows, but it has caused one of our equity-quality indicators to flash a warning. Since equity quality is one of the signals with a strong track record of predicting market sell-offs, should investors be worried? Capital Markets Outlook, Equities, Multi-Asset Likes 0 SHARE Bookmarks
July 30, 2019 Rising Risk of No-Deal Brexit by Darren Williams With the pound sliding to two-year lows, currency markets are signalling a higher probability of a no-deal Brexit. But the fallout from no deal would hurt the rest of Europe, too, and add to downward pressure on euro-area bond yields. Brexit, Economics Likes 0 SHARE Bookmarks