Strategic Implications of the Market Meltdown
This paper reviews strategic questions and advises investors to think carefully about the economic and political dimensions of investment decisions.
Research Publications Archive
High-Yield Bonds – Toxic or Tasty?
The default outlook for high-yield bonds is dreadful, but with more than two-in-three issues trading at distressed levels, today’s yields already price in depressionary conditions.
Securities Lending: An Introduction
This primer discusses securities lending programs.
Stay the Course or Abandon Ship?
While it is only natural to crave safety after periods of intense volatility, we do not believe investors should respond to recent market declines by panicking, scrapping their policy portfolio, and hunkering down in cash (with the obvious exception of excess cash necessary for near-term capital call, spending, and other liquidity needs).
What Does History Tell Us? Putting the Current Market into Context
While the current sell-off is in line with previous major bear markets of the postwar period, it is extreme in its speed and volatility. Precedent would suggest that markets will remain under pressure for the immediate future, but unless you assume we are on the verge of a 1930s’ style bust, equities are poised for…
Liquidity Considerations in Today’s Environment
Due to the recent market volatility, many investors may be facing a liquidity crunch, and some a severe liquidity crisis. This paper is designed to outline a coherent process for assessing the sources and uses of cash, examine the implications of different decisions investors might make about their liquidity needs, and recommend some general guidelines…
“Mark to Market” Accounting: An Endowment’s Guide to the New Valuation (FAS 157)
This report discusses the upcoming implementation of the new “mark to market” (“fair value”) accounting standard. It provides a brief review of the broader accounting and auditing context and examines the probable effects of FAS 157 on long-only equity and fixed income managers, hedge funds, and non-marketable investment funds (private equity, venture capital, real estate)….
Whither the Dollar
Weighing safe-haven status against fiscal concerns.
U.K. Property: Still Not Cheap
While prices have fallen sharply over the past year, the sector still faces stiff headwinds from high valuations, a weakening economy, and tightening credit for buyers.
Value and Japanese Small Caps
Some Japan managers have or might be expected to migrate to the small-cap sector because it offers good value, but investors that agree with this strategy need to have staying power.