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We believe the reason many bond investors are maintaining high balances in low-yielding money markets right now is because they've been scared into thinking the value of their investment will decline sharply if interest rates rise. They may well be right. They may be wrong. We do not know with certainty. However, we do know with certainty that appr...

This PriceWaterhouseCoopers study of global private banking and wealth management provides insight into the themes and trends affecting the world of wealth management as well as practical suggestions for actions wealth managers should be taking. The study is conveniently divided into six sections covering performance, client service, products and s...

Critical to the future success of wealth advisors is a solid understanding of how, and to what degree, the meltdown in financial markets affected investor attitudes, behaviors and needs. Rothstein Kass' Business Consulting Group assesses changes and their implications for other planning disciplines, such as philanthropy, wealth transfer and tax man...

The dollar's value is one vital sign of the health of the U.S. economy vis-à-vis other economies as it reflects expectations about inflation and interest rates. Therefore, tracking and understanding the dollar and other currencies is key to understanding the investment environment, says this paper from Rockefeller & Co. Inc.

As the European debt crisis has evolved, shifts in sentiment have caused dramatic swings in capital markets; swings not easily characterized by underlying investment fundamentals. This uncertainty has driven Italian bond yields to dangerously elevated levels while the yield on German one-year notes turned negative – hardly signs of a healthy econom...

The U.S. will continue its expansion in 2012, but solid global growth depends on Europe experiencing only a moderate recession and the emerging market economies gaining momentum as the year progresses. Less inflationary pressure should help growth, but intermittent financial market pressures from the European debt crisis likely will cap investor ri...

The tone heading into 2012 is cautious, and the year is likely to be one of continued rolling crises. But the U.S. economy has come far and is on much firmer footing than it was in 2008. It is our view that, moving through 2012, the U.S. economy will continue on a path of recovery, while we recognize the need for investors to be agile and diligent.

The key theme in the second half of 2011 was one of moderate, sub-par economic growth accompanied by modest inflation pressures and no change in the federal funds target rate. Expect more of the same in 2012, with the economy expanding 2.0% for the year and small gains coming from many sectors of the economy.

Investment strategies based purely on expertise in a particular industry or asset class will be insufficient in 2012; developing a broader view is essential to navigate the increasingly correlated environment. This comprehensive overview is intended to help investors refine their perspective across a host of markets, economies, and industries.

The most likely outlook for the world economy in 2012 is a global growth recession with global real GDP growth in 2012 of about 3%. The overall economic outlook reflects a full-scale recession in Europe, stagnation or moderate recession in the U.K., near-trend growth in the U.S., continued expansion in Japan, and moderate slowdowns in China and mos...

Against the backdrop of a double decoupling in growth and inflation between economies in the developed and emerging worlds, investment experts gathered to reappraise and analyze the global economic and financial situation and outlook. The key points and conclusions from their discussions are presented in this new, annual publication.

Researchers predicted in late 2009 that large funds could need much more than their typical five-year investment period to invest their capital. Recent projections consider the more active transaction volume and suggest the overhang would more likely require only six years to fully invest.

This is an environment that will see policy mistakes and prompt many questions and likely new fears. But it is one strong enough to produce the cash flows the world needs to fund the pay-down of long-term debt as well as long-term investors' strategic investment management plans.

European Union leaders announced a "solution" to the Greek sovereign debt crisis during their July 21 meetings. The market reaction, as it was after earlier "solutions", was positive. Yet, many specifics are unresolved, and it is highly unlikely that these actions will resolve the solvency issue once and for all.

Forecasts for the demise of the bond market have popped up repeatedly during the past two years only to be deflated by yet another bond market rally. Arguably, it is different this time. Rising rates seem close at hand, and this paper provides detail on that view. At the same time, the paper cautions against overestimating the downside risk in bond...