Index-based global portfolios may offer a more efficient way to capture exposure to developed and emerging markets than having separate portfolios for each of the two. By consolidating these two market segments into a single integrated portfolio, investors benefit from lower portfolio turnover and reduced operating costs.
The congressional compromise is one small step toward U.S. fiscal solvency. Investors can preserve purchasing power by favoring countries with strong finances, such as Brazil, Canada, Germany, and Mexico; investing in developing nations with strong growth prospects; purchasing commodity-based real assets; and not believing lawmakers who promise cha...
Private foundations face risk scenarios such as breach of contract, fiduciary liability, mismanagement of assets, wrongful acts of trustees, employment practices liability, and even possible kidnapping or extortion of trustees. To protect themselves and the foundation, directors and trustees should insist on appropriate insurance coverage.
Increased use of modern networking technologies, including social media, is creating new forms of participation, shifting power from producer to citizen and building customer sovereignty. For corporations and organizations, entry into the digital society rests on new economic principles, rules of play, and collaborative business models.
This summary report of the second quarter provides a high-level view of global economic data as well as global and U.S. economic trends. In addition, it examines individual market segments, including U.S. fixed income, U.S. equity, global equity, international equity, hedge funds, private equity, and real assets.
The debt issues faced by the developed world, macro imbalances, and the unpredictability of global policy actions make this an especially uncertain environment. However, the Fed continues to make low-risk assets very unappealing. Overall, global equities appear reasonably priced in light of the paltry real returns on bonds.
It will take years for state and local governments to return to pre-recession fiscal health. And yet, despite ongoing struggles, financial risks appear to be stabilizing. The mechanisms that state and city issuers have in place – particularly the balanced budget requirement, powers of taxation, and independent treasury management – are working as i...
The U.S. economy lacks clear drivers of sustained growth, and there is no "quick fix" for the housing and structurally high unemployment situations. While there is much debate about what the federal government can and cannot do to change this dynamic, it is hard to see any real solution other than a gradual, often volatile recovery pattern over sev...
Charity analysis is key to helping charities to become better at what they do. Through scrutiny and reflection, charities can identify their strengths and weaknesses, find out what works and what does not, and determine how to improve. They also can use analysis as an opportunity for independent validation and a tool to raise their profile with fun...
The hedge fund industry is reinventing business models and best practices to address regulatory changes and investor demands for enhanced fund transparency, liquidity, and efficiency. Investors, fund managers, and regulators are looking to third-party administrators to provide objective risk assessment and reporting.
Tail risk can be reduced by improving a portfolio's overall risk-return characteristics. Often this approach will blend several distinct strategies: broader diversification, volatility-based risk management, and drawdown control, perhaps combined with active management strategies such as managed futures or low-beta equities.
The authors examine a range of topics, including the narrowing gap between returns on different asset classes, signs of the coming economic upturn, the strategy of alternating between risk-on and risk-off modes, inflation and economic crises around the world, performance of specific asset classes, and innovation as China's next growth driver.
Investors face choices about how much to allocate across the liquidity spectrum of public equity, hedge funds, and private markets. The author outlines the benefits and costs in providing a framework for allocating across those three levels of liquidity when investing in equity markets for commodity producers.
Beginning August 2, the Federal Aviation Administration will release registration numbers of all private flight operations unless a specified security concern is received. This reflects a change in the Block Aircraft Registration Request program, which since 2000 has allowed aircraft operators to prevent the general public from tracking their indiv...
The selection of an appropriate interior designer, architect, or landscape professional for a project is not unlike choosing other professionals as one always checks on reputation, appropriate licensing, and insurance. However, there are certain aspects of hiring talent that must be addressed to optimize the client/talent relationship.