Russell

Best Blogs of the Week #225

Posted by Anu Heda on Apr 05, 2016, in Best Blogs of the Week , tagged with ,

This week’s best blogs includes 2 from Russell and a Wells Fargo post. There’s interesting discussion of the pending DoL fiduciary changes, which is top of mind across most corners of the industry.

Russell – Today’s ESG investing is not your father’s SRI – To many, ESG brings back memories of Socially Responsible Investing (SRI) – which has typically employed an exclusionary screening based on social issues rather than investment issues. For example, electing to divest or not invest in: “Sin stocks,” like alcohol, tobacco, or pornography; or South African companies during the Anti-Apartheid Movement (originally known as the Boycott Movement) of the ‘70s and ‘80s; or fossil fuels today.

Russell – How are advisors adapting to regulatory pressures in 2016? – The question we asked was simple: “To what degree do you see the DOL proposal impacting your business if it passes?” Surprisingly, the largest percentage of surveyed advisors (35%) said they anticipated only a slight impact from the proposed rule…

Wells Fargo – Can the Treasury market’s three-legged stool cope with two legs missing? –  In the final three months of 2015, foreign investors were net sellers of $50 billion of Treasury notes and bonds. China was selling a substantial amount to raise dollars needed to prevent its currency from falling precipitously (see chart below).

 

Wells Fargo Advantage Funds

Best Blogs of the Week #224

Posted by Anu Heda on Mar 28, 2016, in Best Blogs of the Week , tagged with , ,

Three posts from different blogs this week covering emerging markets, pension plans and Valeant.

Lord Abbett – The Growth Investor: Lessons from the Valeant Struggle – The takeaway for growth investors is clear: the high-growth universe is full of big winners and big pretenders.

Russell – The pension plan herd has broken up – For me, the most striking feature is the divergence between the investment approaches. Once upon a time, pension plans paid a lot of attention to peer group comparisons.

Wells Fargo – Five reasons emerging markets assets have rebounded– Overall, we assess the developments in China as slightly positive for emerging markets near term. (Helpful chart re: Brazil below)

 

Source: Wells Fargo Advantage Voice

 

Best Blogs of the Week #214

Posted by Anu Heda on Jan 11, 2016, in Best Blogs of the Week , tagged with , , ,

Welcome to 2016. We saw decent activity over the holidays with some very well-written year in review and 2016 forecasts throughout the asset management industry.

BlackRock – What I Got Right (and Wrong) in 2015 – I didn’t consider that investors would have to pay Germany for the privilege of loaning it money for five years.

JPMorgan – 5 Realistic Surprise Predictions for 2016 – Brazilian local debt returns 40+%

WisdomTree – Major Central Banks Policy Implications for 2016 – … in assessing China’s growth potential, many focus on old economy indicators and miss out on newer economy signals.

Two other posts were excellent in supporting intermediary and institutional investors.

BlackRock – A Strategy for Managing Volatile Markets –  … we like it or not, emotions tend to drive many investment decisions and this often causes investors to buy high and sell low, which is the very opposite that we need to be doing.

Russell – Exploring the risks and challenges of generating yield – When evaluating strategies, it’s essential to consider where yield is coming from and ensure that potential risks are managed appropriately.

Best Blogs of the Week #210

Posted by Anu Heda on Dec 07, 2015, in Best Blogs of the Week , tagged with , , , ,

We took a few weeks between posts but the industry didn’t stop. I counted 70+ posts between 11/29 and 12/5. I’m capturing six here as worthy reading.

Invesco – Four Key Reasons To consider Market Neutral – The Invesco Quantitative Strategies team believes one potential way to buffer the effects of market downturns, volatility and rising interest rates is to add market neutral equity strategies to traditional portfolios, as they potentially offer a unique approach to generating return regardless of the general movements of the equity and bond markets.

Russell – New best practices are emerging for company stock in DC plans – There’s a new world of DC plans, in which the auto-features and choice architecture are the order of the day. In this new world, it’s reasonable to expect that the company stock option will play a diminished role.

Wells Fargo – Why china’s five-Year Plan Is Good For Investors – China’s new five-year plan isn’t growth at all costs; it’s about sustainability. In the past, growth at all costs meant a buying binge of commodities, building cities without residents, and producing air that wasn’t fit to be inhaled.

Impact Investing Posts  

 BlackRock  Russell TIAA-CREF 
 What’s In Your Impact Fund?  Sustainability Reporting  Responsible Investing

Best Blogs of the Week #206

Posted by Anu Heda on Oct 19, 2015, in Best Blogs of the Week , tagged with ,

Two posts this week covering broad views across asset classes and then one tactical view on readying for the inevitable.

Russell – CIO3: Market Perspectives

Cash, Commodities and Global Infrastructure are the largest outliers and all three are now beyond their typical historical range.

WisdomTree – Positioning Bond Portfolios for Future Rate Hikes

Investors should consider hedging interest rate risk as opposed to simply moving it by moving into the shorter end of the yield curve.