The outbreak of war in Ukraine and on-going inflation fears have pushed the sales prices up for the land market. Farmers saw stronger commodity prices and investors wanted a low-risk inflation hedging investment which together propelled the competition for good cropland. With the growing demand for farmland, will the prices go even higher?
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Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are the latest advancement in the ongoing evolution of the blockchain market. Putting this phenomenon into context, a series of papers will examine NFTs from various perspectives, including the legal issues arising from this new technology. This paper is part one in the series: introducing NFTs from the technological and market perspectives.
The challenging market environment and the fear of several interest rate increases by the U.S. Federal Reserve in 2022 has led to a sell-off in global equities. Concurrently, the U.S. is facing inflation rates not seen in more than 40 years, adding to investor concerns. The Dollar's resilience continues to negatively impact Non-Dollar investment returns for U.S. investors.
Many of the challenges the fixed income market has experienced are part of the natural long-term economic cycle. While volatility is likely to remain in 2022, diversified fixed income portfolios can benefit from the rise in interest rates and wider credit spreads.
Decades of globalization have led to the developed world relying more on foreign nations, sometimes with competing interests. The pandemic and recent geopolitical events have shifted attention to the challenges inherent to an increasingly connected world. As nations—and companies—reconsider their cross-border relationships, how does this impact investors?
No one should be surprised to see bouts of volatility in the market, including larger equity drawdowns. Uncertainty remains high at the start of 2021, with the world in a state of transition and optimistically moving from alarming levels of COVID-19 infections to a growing percentage of the population vaccinated. Buoyed by supportive monetary and fiscal policies, the economy should continue its recovery. China may also resurface as a market mover.
2020 was a chaotic year for many industries and the COVID-19 pandemic created a host of challenges for providers in the home health and hospice space. For investors and business owners in that space, the year ended with robust M&A activity in the hospice sector while the home health M&A activity remained dormant. Looking at the trends and challenges of 2020, what can investors and business owners expect in 2021?
Regardless of the sector, nearly every healthcare organization has made significant investments in technology, as data and computing became essential in the healthcare setting during the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to the pandemic, healthcare IT saw an uptick in M&A activity in certain sub-sectors. For those looking at potential investment deals in the healthcare sector, what can they learn from the trends in 2020 and what can they expect in 2021?
U.S. stock market performance, as measured by the S&P 500, has been driven by a small number of stocks over the past few years. The top five holdings now represent 21.9% of the S&P 500 as of December 31, 2020. It is also striking that each of the top five holdings share a common theme: technology and e-commerce. While investors shouldn’t give up on the S&P 500, there are possible alternatives that investors might want to consider.
The events of the last year have made the traditionally predictable world of real estate more chaotic and unclear. For family offices that invest in real estate, it means recognizing that every phase of their real estate investment brings on risk that can threaten its success and reputation. To remain competitive in the market, it is time to reflect on the past year, chart a course for success, and evaluate the risk philosophy and strategies.