Global Markets Update Russia’s financial markets staring into the abyss New sanctions on Russia have led to a sharp plunge in the ruble, and an effective freeze of most of the country’s financial markets. We think that the outlook now depends mainly on the extent to which... 28th February 2022 · 4 mins read
Asset Allocation Update US yield curve is casting doubt on our equity vs. bond call Our view that the US stock market will outperform Treasuries again this year is being called into question by a flattening of the yield curve. Nonetheless, we are not anticipating that it will invert... 23rd February 2022 · 3 mins read
Bonds & Equities Taking stock of Russia/Ukraine tensions & market implications With tensions between Russia and Ukraine continuing, the risk of a conflict with far-reaching economic consequences remains uncomfortably high. This Update considers what the impact on global... 18th February 2022 · 5 mins read
Asset Allocation Update Commodities & US equities: 1970s or mid-2010s? We suspect that the pattern of returns from commodities and US equities over the next few years will more closely resemble that in 2014-15 – positive from the US stock market, negative from... 11th February 2022 · 4 mins read
Asset Allocation Update Assessing the risk of contagion from a slump in US equities One of our key calls for 2022 is that mid- and large-cap equities in the US will generally underperform those in other developed markets, and only fare about as well on average as those in emerging... 10th February 2022 · 3 mins read
Asset Allocation Update The threat to Treasuries from inflation hysteresis We envisage an end to the markedly better performance of TIPS than Treasuries since inflation compensation rebounded from an initial, liquidity-distorted, slump at the start of the pandemic. But this... 2nd February 2022 · 3 mins read
Asset Allocation Update We doubt US equities will underperform across the board We forecast that equities in other developed markets (DMs) will outperform US equities over the next couple of years. By contrast, we expect equities in many emerging markets (EMs) to underperform... 21st January 2022 · 6 mins read
Asset Allocation Update Our outlook for fx-hedged returns in 2022 When it comes to developed markets (DMs), we suspect that fx-hedged returns will be significantly better than unhedged returns for US dollar-based investors in foreign-currency-denominated assets. 17th January 2022 · 2 mins read
Global Markets Update Key financial market calls for 2022 We do not think the returns from many financial assets will be as good in 2022 as they were in 2021. For a start, we envisage a sell-off in government bonds in most places, reflecting the outlook for... 13th January 2022 · 4 mins read
Asset Allocation Update EM equities may continue to underperform in 2022-23 We think that emerging market (EM) equities will continue to underperform their developed market (DM) peers over the next couple of years, even if that underperformance is far less stark than it was... 13th January 2022 · 5 mins read
Asset Allocation Update Case for US equity underperformance is looking strong Although mid- and large-cap equities have fared better in the US than the rest of the developed world in most years since the Global Financial Crisis (GFC), we think the chances of it happening in... 10th January 2022 · 5 mins read
Asset Allocation Update Revisiting our forecasts in light of the Fed After taking on board the Federal Reserve’s recent hawkish pivot, we now forecast that the central bank will raise its policy rate much more quickly than we had previously anticipated. This Update... 17th December 2021 · 3 mins read
Asset Allocation Update US REITs may outperform ordinary US equities The recent resilience of US real estate investment trusts (REITs) seems to reflect both easing concerns about the Omicron variant and a net decline in long-dated Treasury yields. Although we expect... 13th December 2021 · 4 mins read
Asset Allocation Update Is US households’ voracious appetite for equities sated? US households and nonprofit organizations (NPO) lost their appetite for equities last quarter. If they don’t get it back, it may not augur well for the stock market. 10th December 2021 · 3 mins read
Asset Allocation Update Taking stock of potential corporate tax reforms This Update answers several questions on the Biden administration’s latest proposals for US corporate taxes as well as the global tax deal recently agreed among the world’s major economies. The... 19th November 2021 · 8 mins read
Asset Allocation Update Why we still aren’t convinced the S&P 500 is in a bubble Even though the S&P 500 has risen by almost another 25% or so this year, we are still not persuaded that the US stock market is in a bubble that is about to burst. 12th November 2021 · 4 mins read