Asking the Right Questions
The Elusive Search for Alpha: Natural Enthusiasm
I have written recently about the importance of having a clear process in place for the evaluation, selection and monitoring of active investment managers. A well-defined process can help sidestep serial underperformers and shortlist managers actually worth considering. For those managers that make the…
Weekly Market Recap: W/E September 25th 2015
Market Recap A strong rally in equity markets on Friday helped brighten up what was otherwise a miserable week for equity investors. Against an uncertain backdrop, the confession from Volkswagen that they had used software to cheat US emission standards, heaped further pressure on…
Weekly Market Recap: W/E September 18th 2015
Market Recap Global equity investors suffered another challenging week. Most of the major indices had notched up strong gains in the early part of the week, ahead of the US Federal Reserve’s all-important monetary policy meeting on Thursday. However, accompanying their decision not to…
A Karl Pilkington Perspective on Central Banks
Those who have heard of Karl Pilkington probably know him as the guy in the TV show An Idiot Abroad. However, it was the podcasts with Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant (co-creators of The Office) in the mid-2000’s that earned him cult status, for…
Active Management: A Football Perspective
Trustee groups face a plethora of choice when implementing an investment offering within a pension scheme. One important decision is whether to use passive or active investment managers. Passive managers simply look to replicate a particular index. For example, for broad exposure to global…
All eyes on Janet Yellen and the US Fed!
A major source of the market volatility in recent months has been the uncertainty around the outlook for interest rates in the US. This week will be eventful, with the US Federal Reserve holding their much anticipated monetary policy committee meeting, as market participants…
Draghi leaves the door open for QE2
After disappointing Chinese data it was over to Super Mario – European Central Bank (ECB) President Mario Draghi – to try and lift the market on Thursday, in his press conference following the ECB’s latest monetary policy meeting. First, the bad news, the ECB’s…
Weekly Market Recap: W/E August 28th 2015
Market Recap Eurofirst 300 Index +0.49% German 10-Year Yield 0.73%; EUR/USD $1.117; Brent Oil $50.05 Global equity markets ended the week marginally higher, masking the stomach churning volatility across all asset classes which provided flashbacks of 2008.
Market Recap: Week of August 10th 2015
Market Recap Global equity markets were mixed last week, with the major indices in Europe and Asia outperforming their US peers. Bond yields edged up slightly in Europe while the UK 10-year yield dropped 4bps to 1.97%, as the Bank of England’s Mark Carney…
Market Recap: Week of August 3rd 2015
Market Recap Global equity markets were mixed last week against a backdrop of falling commodity prices and global growth concerns. Much of the focus remains on the timing of US interest rate hikes, with investors meticulously analysing each piece of economic data for clues…
