Comparative Asset Allocation: Private Clients
Our biannual report summarizes asset allocation for 85 of Cambridge Associates’ US-based private clients.
US
US High-Yield Bonds: Our Interest Remains Limited
We continue to find high-yield bonds uncompelling; select opportunities in high-yield energy credit may offer attractive alpha Solid credit fundamentals and 6%+ yields in a low-return environment have lured some investors back to high-yield bonds, but current coupons will serve to cap future returns and offer little protection in the (somewhat unlikely) event the credit…
US PE/VC Benchmark Commentary: Third Quarter 2014
Overview US private equity and venture capital funds produced modest returns during third quarter 2014, though both outpaced the S&P 500 and Russell 2000® indexes, as indicated by the Cambridge Associates LLC benchmark indexes of the two alternative asset classes. Over the first nine months of the year, venture capital slightly outperformed private equity and…
Municipal Bonds: Incredibly Low Yields, But Few Attractive Alternatives
We maintain our neutral positioning for municipal bonds Though yields have moved below the 2% level that we previously viewed as a threshold for underweighting munis, other factors have changed the equation. Treasury yields have plunged as well, and ten-year Treasuries currently yield less than ten-year munis. Muni issuance remains quiescent, with new issuance at…
Is the Stronger Dollar Impacting US Companies’ Earnings?
A number of companies have blamed the strengthening dollar for disappointing fourth quarter and 2015 earnings guidance. With about 65% of S&P 500 companies having reported, headlines that around 75% of firms are beating expectations obscure the reality of forecasts that have steadily been marked lower. Growth for the quarter (year-over-year) is expected to be…
US Manager Universe Statistics: Fourth Quarter and Calendar Year 2014
This chart book presents representative marketable and hedge fund manager performance for fourth quarter and calendar year 2014. US Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) managers posted the largest median returns for the fourth quarter (14.2%) and the one-year period ending December 31, 2014 (31.2%).
US PE/VC Benchmark Commentary: Second Quarter 2014
During the first half of 2014, US private equity and venture capital funds performed well, with both outpacing public markets. Over the first six months of the year, private equity has slightly outperformed venture capital.
US Manager Update
This chart book presents representative marketable and hedge fund manager performance for third quarter 2014. This quarter US Core Bond, US Bond, and Cash Management managers posted the highest median returns, while Pan-European Equity managers posted the lowest median returns.
Have Lofty US Corporate Profit Margins Finally Turned a Corner?
Profit margins are regarded by many as one of the most reliably mean-reverting time series in finance. In a global economy, high margin businesses should, in theory, attract competition that will gradually erode the ability of those companies to sustain significantly higher margins. Following the global financial crisis, US corporate profit margins expanded to new…
Is the US Equity Market on the Cusp of a Melt-Up?
Valuations are high, volatility near all-time lows, and policy rates on the rise; investors, meanwhile, are the most optimistic since 1987. On top of all that, the geopolitical picture is arguably more unsettled than at any point since the late 1970s. So who in their right mind would buy equities? With the standard caveat that…