June’s publication summarizes two articles related to pension plans. The first suggests corporate defined benefit pension plans seeking to improve funding levels conduct careful cost-benefit analysis, and the second argues that public pension plans improperly discount expected liabilities, raising risks among plan participants.
May’s publication summarizes three articles focused on investment management fees. The first argues that the total fees charged to investors increase when incentive fees are more frequently crystallized, the second suggests high fees can significantly reduce an asset class’s diversification benefit, and the third explores five myths about fees and fee structures.
April’s publication summarizes three articles focused on oil markets. The first reviews different approaches to developing oil price expectations, arguing that each has faults; the second suggests oil prices may have hit a bottom in February; and the third highlights “good”, “bad,” and “ugly” aspects affecting oil prices today.
March’s publication summarizes three articles discussing the implications of the UK’s June 23 referendum vote on EU membership. The first argues that the UK economy stands to lose from an exit vote even under optimistic assumptions, the second highlights how the uncertainty connected to the vote is already taking a toll on the UK economy, and the third suggests investors should trim exposure to peripheral EU countries.
February’s publication summarizes two articles discussing the economy and its impact on markets. The first argues that while recessions are likely to occur more frequently in the future, the probability of a near-term recession in developed markets is low, and the second suggests valuations, not economic growth rates, drive equity market returns.
January’s publication summarizes three articles on value, growth, and momentum. The first separates fact from fiction in value investing, the second discusses how the growth premium can be helpful to the value investor, and the third highlights how momentum in combination with value and growth can lead to a less-risky portfolio.
December’s publication summarizes two articles on interest rates. The first argues that the persistence of negative yields on several developed countries’ sovereign debt may encourage market instability, and the second suggests investors looking for more stable returns next year focus on US government bonds with long maturities versus short.
November’s publication summarizes three articles on China. The first suggests that the country’s GDP growth rate is unlikely to decline severely, the second argues that the government’s policies to stabilize the economy probably will promote a more sustainable growth path, and the third highlights how China’s slowing growth may limit global growth.
October’s publication summarizes four articles discussing commodity price outlooks and implementation. The first two highlight a bullish case for commodity prices that is supportive to global economic growth, the third suggests that any rebound in commodity prices is unlikely to occur until late next year at the earliest, and the fourth argues investors are more likely to benefit from long-short commodity strategies vs. long-only commodity strategies.
September’s publication summarizes two articles addressing sustainability issues in an investing context. The first suggests that security analysts who consider a broad dataset beyond financial data in making investment decisions may develop unique insights, and the second argues that firms with good performance on material sustainability factors outperform firms with poor performance.