Americans frequently view economic conditions through a political lens. However, markets are driven by fundamentals over long periods of time, not politicians. Investors should be cautious about letting their political biases impact their investment decisions. Modifying investment portfolios based on political views can be hazardous to returns.
Many states are imposing a millionaire’s tax with huge implications for top earners. Explore how aggressive tax-loss harvesting can soften the blow.
Jean Joseph, Managing Director of Owl Rock Capital Partners, discussed the status of the global markets in the context of the credit cycle and some signs pointing to a need for caution in today’s market. Mr. Joseph delved into the credit markets specifically, identifying some unique characteristics of the rally that support his firm’s more cautious view. He concluded with areas of opportunity in today’s challenging macro environment.
Now that passive index investing has overtaken active management, learn why this might not be as scary for the industry as it may seem.
Understand the good, the bad, and the promise of direct investing. Members of the FOX DIN Network will share their insights and experiences with direct investing and provide valuable lessons and best practices they have learned. This session will involve roundtable discussions of current deal activity.
Both stocks and bonds enjoyed positive returns in the Third Quarter 2019, adding to already-impressive performance from the first half of the year. Declining interest rates again deserve much of the credit for these attractive investment returns. Pessimism regarding global economic growth along with central bank accommodation compressed interest rates to historically low levels.
There is a risk, in a time of prolonged economic uncertainty, that you become blinded to the pitfalls ahead. U.S./China trade tensions have now been ramping up for over a year, and other geopolitical tensions for even longer (Brexit for over three). But while we have suffered bouts of volatility, markets have not fallen into a more prolonged period of gloom.
Substantial inflows into passive funds over the last decade have led to speculatioon that a bubble is forming. Key concerns center around the lack of price discovery inherent with passive funds as well as liquidity during market dislocations. While conerns may be valid, empirical data does not seem to support the case for a bubble.
Consumer confidence measures have been mixed amid heightened geopolitical noise. The global manufacturing slowdown has pulled that sub-set of the U.S. economy into contraction territory and threatens business investment. Key service-based readings have maintained resilient growth in the U.S. Currencies around the world have fallen versus the U.S. Dollar, with the "safe-haven" Japanese Yen being the notable exception. The U.S.-China relations induced periodic bouts of volatility, and the matter goes beyond unresolved trade/tariff issues.
More and more investors are considering an allocation to commodities, typically motivated by a desire to tap the inflation-fighting and diversifying properties of this asset class. While the most natural way to get commodity exposure is by investing in a portfolio of commodity futures, many investors (and consultants) believe owning a portfolio of natural resource stocks is an easier method.