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The foreign exchange market is widely appreciated to be the largest and most liquid market of all global financial markets. However, it is susceptible to shocks which can cause significant unexpected volatility, such as the timing of the Swiss National Bank’s (SNB) decision to remove its 1.20 floor on the Swiss Franc versus the Euro on 15th J...

This report provides a historical review of past economic conditions for 2013 and 2014, and illustrates what might be in store for investors in 2015 by asking five key questions. Those questions include: Will US equities continue to outperform? Is the macro environment in Europe getting worse? What impact will diverging monetary policy have o...

Micro cap stocks are among the investment world’s worst-kept secrets. They have been around as an asset class category since the 1980s, and research has repeatedly confirmed the ad­vantages they offer to investors – most notably a chance to exploit numerous opportunities for greater excess returns.Micro caps’ size and role in ...

Since their introduction only two decades ago, Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) have been undeniably successful. Growing far beyond their initial function of tracking large liquid indices in developed markets, ETFs now hold over $2.6 trillion of assets globally. In fact, the proliferation of ETFs was identified as one of the six game change...

Advisors and consumers often think of variable universal life (VUL) as just an equity-linked product. But for many, VUL is much more than that.This article seeks to encourage a rethinking of VUL as a unique life insurance product that provides control, flexibility and transparency in a low cost product chassis, while providing the potential for enh...

Amid unprecedented economic turmoil and regulatory change, most asset managers have afforded themselves little time to bring the future into focus. But the industry stands on the precipice of a number of fundamental shifts that will shape the future of the asset management industry. This paper will help asset managers’ plan for the future by ...

One primary consideration of investors looking to make an allocation to listed real estate via real estate investment trusts (REITs) today is the impact that a rising-rate environment has on the relative performance of REITs vs. other broader asset classes. This paper discusses the role of REITs in a portfolio as part of a comprehensive investment ...

Co-investing is gaining popularity and theoretically offers investors cost advantages and higher return potential. This report discusses the opportunities and common pitfalls of co-investing, leveraging our aggregated data on co-investments and funds generating co-investment.

From an economic perspective, resource rich ASEAN, with its 600 million consumers is one of the most interesting regions in the world. Yet, German companies have to recognize it and position themselves to benefit from its long-term growth potential. Compared with the EU, the level of integration in ASEAN is still at an early stage. At the same time...

In the past, central banks were able to push short-term interest rates below zero with negative deposit rates but they had limited influence on longer-maturity bonds. When the financial crisis hit in 2007, all this changed, revealing a new unconventional monetary policy that included buying bonds. Since then, central banks have supported pricing by...

In 2012, Pershing issued a wake-up call to the industry by publishing Women Are Not a ‘Niche’ Market, an advisor guide that called for greater attention to the needs of women investors. Since then, financial services companies have ratcheted up their marketing efforts to reach women, and many financial advisors have made a concerted eff...

This article takes a look at the current market conditions and how a strong U.S. dollar has weakend the supply and demand surplus of oil.Some takeaways include: Oil prices could remain depressed for a prolonged period, as some petro states have the ability to weather low prices. Should energy woes continue to spill over into stock and bond mar...

2014 began much the same way as investors fervently hid from interest rate volatility. The previous year’s significant rate decline surprised nearly every market participant and commentator. However, during 2014, 30-year Treasury bond yields fell 1.22 percent and provided a total return of more than 29 percent. As interest rates slid to near ...

This strategic white paper illustrates asset flow, industry trends, performance and benchmarking highlights within the hedge fund industry for the fourth quarter.

This executive summary examines economic data for the U.S. Economy, Global Economy, Bonds, U.S. Equity Market, International Financial Markets and the state of Alternative Investments for the second Quarter of 2014.