A business development company or BDC is a type of investment enterprise that typically lends debt capital to and/or invests in the equity securities of small to mid-size private businesses. This White Paper provides an in-depth introduction to BDCs, including their history, common practices, and risks.
While private equity serves as a compelling addition to a well-structured portfolio, it presents investors with unique challenges in the areas of cash flow management, diversification and liquidity. Implementing private equity secondary funds can help offset some of these challenges while presenting investors with favorable return characteristics.
While the outcome of many global issues remains uncertain, we believe the risk/reward equation favors taking well-calculated, above-average risk. Investor psychology can change at any moment. When the market returns its focus on individual company fundamentals, we expect significant alpha will be generated by portfolios that own high-quality compan...
This latest quarterly issue of “ViewPoint” features an interview in which the bank’s chief investment officer discusses his outlook for the global economy and capital markets for 2012. He notes that the U.S. should exhibit positive growth, boosted by capital spending, and that a growing U.S. economy should keep the global economy ...
Despite continued concern about sovereign debt, particularly in Greece, the bank’s 11-member investment committee is encouraged by improved business surveys in the U.S. and some emerging markets as well as tentative improvements in Europe. Here, committee members assess the outlook for fixed income, equities, commodities, real estate, and currencie...
Innovation in manufacturing is critical to global growth and development. Investing in companies in the areas of electrical equipment, industrial machinery, and distribution will help these companies contribute to the advancement of the global standard of living, while benefiting investors, shareholders, and clients.
Master limited partnerships represent a niche asset class that is gaining attention for its attractive yield potential, historically low correlation to other asset classes, and potential tax benefits. Strong industry fundamentals, attractive valuations, and above-average dividend yields provide a compelling entry point for investors looking at MLPs...
Investors and advisors focused on wealth growth and preservation may see environment, social, and governance/socially responsible investing as taxing a portfolio's performance. This paper offers a framework with associated metrics for assessing ESG/SRI integration into the portfolio with the same rigor and discipline used in all other fiduciary dec...
This paper offers a practical look at how an individual or family might plot a successful road map that aligns and grows with their unique abilities, needs, and personality. The authors detail the steps in a philanthropic asset allocation process involving fact-finding, planning, and continuing assessment as seen through the eyes of three hypotheti...
An attorney/entrepreneur makes the case for investing in commercial claims. Investors in this specialty finance sector supply capital to companies to pursue their claims and hedge the risk of loss and, in return, receive a percentage of the claim proceeds.
Master Limited Partnerships (MLPs) offer a unique combination of liquidity and cash flow to investors while serving as preferred access vehicles to capital markets. MLPs trade on major exchanges, like most publicly traded corporations. As partnerships, they avoid corporate income tax at the entity level, affording them a distinct cost of capital ad...
For wealthy families, 529s may not be the optimal way to save and pay for education. Altair's Rebekah Kohmescher explains in this Worth magazine article.
Altair's Jason Laurie details the dangers (and common practice) of chasing higher-yield investments in this Worth magazine article.
This article, originally published in Worth magazine, looks at some do's and don'ts for increasing cash flow in today's low-interest rate environment.
Ultra-short-duration bond funds seek to improve on the strategy underlying money market funds. By holding a variety of fixed income instruments with very short average durations in a fund structure, investors may be able to achieve higher yields from the current market environment than they typically could in a money market fund, albeit with little...