In 2020, 62.9% of active global ex US managers outperformed the MSCI EAFE Index, gross of fees, with the median manager outperforming by 334 basis points, the highest margin in a decade. This chart book is our annual summary of the absolute and relative performance of managers that report to our database.
While colleges and universities have faced several financial fissures due to the disruptions of COVID-19, their endowments have been a source of financial stability. Four key financial indicators tell this story: operating margins were compressed, tuition discounts grew, institutions borrowed more debt, and endowment spending was consistent. In this note, we review these financial pressures and the endowment implications that emerged in Cambridge Associates’ second annual Endowment Radar Study of private college and university finances.
The 2020 UK edition of our annual report on the history of financial markets provides context for the range of returns investors can expect from equities, bonds, and cash; reveals the importance of various components of equity returns; examines the evidence for equity mean reversion; and reviews the relationship between initial valuations and subsequent returns for equities and bonds. It also analyzes the historic economic declines and sharp asset price movements that resulted from the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
In private investing, it appears that way, but a deeper look suggests there could be a method to the valuation madness.
For the seventh straight year, the majority of active mid- to large-cap managers underperformed in 2020, with 63.9% lagging the benchmark (gross of fees). This chart book is our annual summary of the absolute and relative performance of managers that report to our database.
The 2020 US edition of our annual report on the history of financial markets provides context for the range of returns investors can expect from equities, bonds, and cash; reveals the importance of various components of equity returns; examines the evidence for equity mean reversion; and reviews the relationship between initial valuations and subsequent returns for equities and bonds. It also analyzes the historic economic declines and sharp asset price movements that resulted from the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
This report summarizes returns, investment policy, asset allocation, and related trends for 312 endowed institutions. Included are exhibits on asset class returns, performance attribution, risk analytics, policy portfolio benchmarking, and uncalled capital commitments. The analysis is broken down by size of assets under management and by institution type. The report also contains sections on investment manager structures, payout from the long-term investment portfolio, and investment office staffing and governance.
No, we do not believe that is generally the case. While the recent wild ride of a few companies’ share prices was novel in that it was coordinated by retail investors on the social media platform Reddit, the short coverings that contributed to the price spikes were all too familiar to long-time investors.
The historic milestone reached when the white smoke emerged from Brussels and London on 24 December 2020 represents the end of the beginning in the establishment of the new relationship between the UK and EU, rather than an end in itself. Nonetheless, with the lingering threat of a tumultuous no-deal exit now removed, the headwind that this represented to the performance of UK assets has now subsided.
New Zealand has arguably fared better during the global pandemic than any other developed country. While 2021 should see the New Zealand economy continue to fare well, complacency is the biggest risk, both in regards to COVID-19 and global growth, but also in relation to sky-high equity valuations, both at home and abroad.