Europe

Friend or Foe: Hedge Funds Versus Alternative Risk Premia (Euro Edition)

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It has been a challenging time for hedge funds in recent years. Loose monetary policy has driven equity markets upwards and hurt short books. The growth of quantitatively traded funds has eroded some of the inefficiencies commonly exploited by hedge funds. This fact, coupled with the shift toward low-fee passive and alternative risk premia (ARP) products, has raised questions about the merits of hedge funds in investor portfolios. In this paper, we focus on comparing ARP versus hedge funds and investigate whether hedge funds and ARP funds are complementary or whether ARP funds are actually a viable replacement for hedge funds.

Will Weak Economic Data in the Euro Area Undercut Its Equities?

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No, we don’t think so. While euro area economic activity has weakened meaningfully, with real GDP growth falling to its lowest annual pace (1.1%) since 2013 in third quarter, strong equity returns aren’t dependent on robust economic growth. Ultimately, we continue to like the bloc as part of a risk-controlled overweight to global ex US equities funded from US equities.

Trends in European Credit

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European credit investors have enjoyed significant gains in 2019 as the combination of weak economic data and central bank easing has pushed yields lower. Investors will need to be nimble to find attractive risk-adjusted returns in the months ahead.

Alternative Risk Premia: A Diversifying Option for Investors (Euro Edition)

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Elevated equity market valuations and potentially rising bond yields suggest the return environment for traditional risk assets could be difficult. Faced with this challenge, institutional investors are seeking alternative sources of return. Alternative risk premia strategies—which harvest well-established risk premia and market anomalies across asset classes—may fit the bill.

Stress and Losses Among Middle-Market Senior and Unitranche Loans: Introducing Cambridge Associates’ New Database

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As part of our ongoing commitment to alternative credit, Cambridge Associates (CA) began compiling a database of credit stress and losses in one of the largest strategies within private credit, senior debt (i.e., direct lending). Our initial outreach in the United States and Europe yielded data from 11 senior debt funds tracking material document modifications (which we use as a proxy for credit stress, greater detail below) and loss rates in bilateral and clubbed middle-market lending.