Resource Search

The major rating agencies have published a number of reports highlighting the favorable trends for the life/annuity and health insurance industry. This paper provides a synopsis of recent reports from A.M Best, Standard & Poor's, Fitch and Moody's.

The SEC recently adopted Rule 13h-1, which imposes registration and reporting obligations on large traders. Private funds, family offices, investment advisors, and individuals all could qualify, depending on how actively they trade certain types of securities. The rule went into effect October 3, and large traders must identify themselves by December 1.

Investors strive to act prudently and to generate good risk-adjusted returns. But what happens when these two objectives are in conflict? The author discusses the conditions under which these goals may be incompatible and offers suggestions for minimizing the opportunity costs that arise when prudence gets in the way of returns.

A sustained level of volatility may actually benefit long-term commodity investors. Tightening supply/demand conditions may lead to potentially higher long-term returns and investors can capitalize on the shape of the futures curve by taking advantage of short-term supply stocks to generate alpha.

Trading policies implemented after the flash crash of May 2010 have reduced the level of individual stock dislocations but have not eliminated market volatility, which has persisted and even increased. Investors should seek protection from economic and market risks but without blindly forfeiting long-term returns.

Much of charitable giving is fueled by personal beliefs and emotional connections. This research report examined the possibility of a more analytical approach to charitable asset allocation in the UK and found that by focusing on some of the most difficult social problems, private funders can tackle the root causes of crises and create change.

The authors believe the U.S. economy is likely to continue to grow, albeit slowly; the European Union is not likely to fracture; and the emerging economies, including China and India, are likely to continue to grow fast enough to help the global economy grow at a near normal pace.

Local currency emerging market debt funds have enjoyed robust asset growth in recent years as the investable universe has expanded and liquidity has sharply improved. This growing asset class provides diversification benefits and an attractive risk/reward profile for fixed-income and multi-asset portfolios.

An agreement was reached on 24 August between the UK Treasury and Swiss Federal Department of Finance regarding the treatment of Swiss accounts held by UK taxpayers. The agreement is due to be signed by both parties within the next few months at which stage the detailed terms will be issued. This briefing note summarises the outline of the agreement, which has been communicated by HMRC in advance of the full detail being available.

Investment portfolios with diversified allocations exhibit beta spikes, which are commonly believed to be the result of increased portfolio correlation to U.S. equity. However, the fundamental mechanism driving beta to stress levels is the portfolio volatility ratio relative to equities, rather than the portfolio correlation itself.