The Risk of a Contested Election and Civilian Unrest
Despite a meaningful lead in national polls by former Vice President Biden over President Trump, the next President of the United States will be decided by the outcome in approximately 13 states …
U.S. Fixed Income: Q3 2020 Update
The final stanza of 2020 is upon us, and the fixed income landscape looks quite complacent across many sectors of the market. Treasury rates are somewhat of an exception, as the re-steepening of the treasury curve is pronounced …
Q4 2020 Market Outlook: Risks that Keep Us up at Night as Investors (and Citizens)
History teaches us that financial assets and markets can survive and indeed thrive under different political systems (see China and Thailand for example), but social unrest and instability are their common and universal kryptonite.
Systematic Global Equities: Q3 2020 Update
The third quarter of 2020 saw equity markets post strong gains, capping the best two-quarter performance since 2009. Despite a spike in coronavirus cases in June and July, there has been a slow but steady recovery in economic activity.
Index Concentration & Portfolio Construction
The bellwether index for U.S. equity markets, the S&P 500, has seen a steady increase in stock and sector concentrations since 2017. This has created implications regarding the drivers of market performance …
U.S. Fixed Income: Q2 2020 Update
As we move into the second half of 2020, we can only look back on the first half in amazement. In fact, 1H20 was a tale of two halves, for markets generally and the fixed income markets specifically. As we noted in our commentary for 1Q20 March was one of the worst months for…