No. While the Federal Reserve’s discussion of tapering asset purchases signals a shift toward tighter monetary policy, both the Fed and markets learned valuable lessons from the 2013 Taper Tantrum; the impact on bond yields should be limited.
The Foundation Annual Flash Statistics Report provides a first look at the results of our 2020 Foundation Annual Investment Pool Returns survey. Included in the analysis are a summary of investment pool returns, asset allocation, and returns after spending for 112 foundations. Additionally, the report provides detailed data by institution on asset allocation. Look for our full annual analysis in the upcoming Foundation Annual Investment Pool Returns report.
Yes. We believe the underperformance of Japanese small-cap stocks in recent years will reverse, boosted by attractive relative valuations, stronger balance sheets, and growing pressure from shareholders and regulators.
Implementing sustainability and impact investing (SII) themes in investment portfolios can seem complex, leaving many investors new to SII wondering how to begin. This paper provides insight into building resilient portfolios that will contribute to and thrive in a more sustainable and equitable future.
We advise extreme caution in using derivatives to protect portfolios from sharp equity drawdowns. We recommend that investors look to asset allocation to defend against equity risk before buying puts. For those investors who must pursue a tail-risk hedge, we provide a list of potential pitfalls and solutions, in the form of a case study.
Yes, investors should consider diversity in the investment decision-making process, as we expect a diversity of thought and talent will lead to better investment outcomes than a process that ignores this important issue.
The American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) was signed into law on March 11, 2021, and included a variety of plan sponsor–friendly changes to single-employer and multiemployer pension plans, but no real help for public sector plans. ARPA may change the future landscape of US pension plans, which may prompt plan sponsors to modify their investment strategies to achieve plan objectives. Its impact will vary greatly, both by plan type and individual plan circumstances.
Today, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics released its monthly inflation report for April, which highlighted that prices paid by urban consumers for a basket of goods and services increased by 4.2% relative to the same month last year.
Yes, we expect it will. We anticipate global inflation expectations will remain stable or increase modestly amid rising economic growth, which would allow the equity market rotation into cyclicals to continue.
21st Century infrastructure: The importance of digitisation has grown during the pandemic, as people have relied more on digital platforms, video streaming, and cloud storage. Investment across the digital infrastructure value chain continues to rise in response, and should increasingly be a priority for real asset investors.