Time to Venture … into Venture?
The venture capital model is not broken – indeed, fundamentals look better than they have for many years – but returns will likely continue to be concentrated in top-performing funds.
Authored by: Eric Winig
U.K. Property: Time to Top Up on Prime?
U.K. property remains bifurcated, with a large spread between prices and investor interest in prime and non-prime assets. While prime prices are assuredly not cheap, we would view a further softening in capital values as a signal for long-sighted investors to top up allocations.
Long-Short Hedge Funds – Bottoms Up?
After a difficult few years—capped off by the annus horribilis of 2011—are long/short hedge funds a buy … or sell?
The Lowdown on Low Vol
While the theory behind low-volatility equity strategies is sound, funds seeking to provide equity-like returns with lowered volatility are neither new nor unique. Further, investors should tread cautiously given the mushrooming number of entrants in the field and the diversity of approaches.
Still Nursing the U.S. Private Equity Overhang Hangover
Despite a meaningful reduction in the overhang for large private equity funds, it remains too large to be absorbed by anything other than a replay of the easy credit–powered 2005–08 exit environment; mid-market funds are still a more attractive option.
The Benefits of Selling Volatility
A fully collateralized option-selling program has historically provided strong returns with low volatility and high liquidity. Looking ahead, we expect this to be an attractive portfolio diversifier that seeks to capture the seemingly persistent gap between implied and realized volatility.
The Sober Future of Endowment Spending
Given that the global economic outlook is highly uncertain and valuations are not particularly cheap, we once again find ourselves in the role of urging institutions to develop spending contingency plans now, to prepare for the day when their spending policy may dictate cuts, as opposed to being forced to make such decisions hastily, under…
U.K. Property: Hold the Champagne
While property prices have soared over the past year, future returns are likely to be tepid, with gains capped by the huge debt overhang and limited lender capacity, but supported by the accommodative monetary environment.
What if the U.S. Dollar Crashes?
While there are few options to effectively hedge against a US$ crash, investors should nevertheless think carefully about the ways such an event might play out, and what this implies for the efficacy of current investment strategies.
An Update on Europe – Not Quite Time to Sound the All Clear
Authorities have taken decisive steps recently to quell concerns about sovereign debts. However, the underlying problems will take a long time to work through and thus volatility is likely to be a recurring theme in European markets for some time.