Research and Commentary

FIS Group Archive | A Clear Perspective

About Global Market Outlook Reports

About Global Market Outlook Reports

Our CIO, Tina Byles Williams, publishes our market outlook on a quarterly basis, based on research that examines market conditions over a three- to six-month period. These quarterly analyses serve as key inputs to our fund construction process, which incorporates strategic tilts to the market segments we believe will outperform over a six- to 12-month time frame. For global equity portfolios, these tilts incorporate regional, sector, and capitalization strata as well as investment process and style factors. For U.S. equity portfolios, tilts include sector, capitalization strata, investment process, and/or style factors.

Our objective is to construct a portfolio of “best in class” investments with weightings consistent with our overall investment strategy.

FIS Group Global Market Outlook Reports


Q4 2019 Market Outlook

Q4 2019 Market Outlook

In the third quarter, both of the leading anglo-liberal democracies lurched towards the political abyss and even potential constitutional crises, while global growth continued to decelerate on the back of trade policy …

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MARKET OUTLOOK Q2 2019 – Late Cycle Rally on Borrowed Time

MARKET OUTLOOK Q2 2019 – Late Cycle Rally on Borrowed Time

Although global growth declined in Q1, as anticipated in our Q1 2019 Outlook, risk assets continued their December 2018 romp as a result of an apparent de-escalation of U.S.-Sino trade tensions and a decidedly dovish pivot by G10 Central banks (See Table One). Some US...

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2019 Outlook for Frontier Markets

2019 Outlook for Frontier Markets

Frontier markets slumped in line with other non-dollar denominated markets in 2018; though outside of Argentina, frontier markets as a whole outperformed even the U.S. market. In our annual outlook we first look back to grade our calls from last year (spoiler: very...

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Q4 Market Outlook: From A Trade War To A Cold War?

Q4 Market Outlook: From A Trade War To A Cold War?

Following the imposition of a second round of tariffs on Chinese goods and China's concomitant imposition of retaliatory tariffs, we are - by nearly any reasonable definition of a trade war - in the heart of one at this time. There is good reason to be concerned for...

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Market Insights Alert

Papers: FIS Group Proprietary Research


The Sweet Spot in the US Equity Markets: Part 1

The Sweet Spot in the US Equity Markets: Part 1

The US equity markets exhibit observable biases over time, alternately favoring one group of stocks over others:  large cap vs. small cap; value vs. growth; defensive vs. dynamic; sector rotation, etc. We questioned whether there was a longer term benefit to favoring one group of stocks over the others.

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Monetary Policy at the end of the Road?

Monetary Policy at the end of the Road?

As central bankers around the world continue to lament the lack of helpful fiscal policy and discuss the limitations of monetary policy after years of ultra-accommodative policy, we discuss what we see as a few of the potential risks to the outlook should the United...

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A Tale of Two Styles: Value and Growth – Part 3

A Tale of Two Styles: Value and Growth – Part 3

Yields have fallen precipitously since 2018 on weaker economics, driving Momentum stock leadership, and the underperformance of Value and more-shorted names. These trends reversed in September on positive macro headlines and a pickup in yields. 

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A Tale of Two Styles: Value and Growth – Part 2

A Tale of Two Styles: Value and Growth – Part 2

It has been the best of times, it has been the worst of times…for growth and value…over the last decade. Since the end of the Great Financial Crisis (GFC), economic and market conditions have been generally favorable for US growth stocks.  The economy grew at a slow...

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A Tale of Two Styles: Value and Growth – Part 1

A Tale of Two Styles: Value and Growth – Part 1

It has been the best of times, it has been the worst of times…for growth and value…over the last decade.  Since the end of the Great Financial Crisis (GFC), economic and market conditions have been generally favorable for US growth stocks. 

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Videos And Webinars

Market Outlook and Research Webinars


View Q4, 2014 Webinar

Tina Byles Williams, CEO/CIO of FIS Group leads a wide-ranging discussion on FIS Group’s view of geopolitical, demographic and macroeconomic trends shaping risk and investable opportunities for institutional investors.
The panel moderator Sam Austin, III, SVP Director of Marketing and Client Service (FIS Group) and Ms. Byles Williams conducted this discussion as a part of FIS Group’s third annual Investment Symposium. The event was held on September 26, 2014 in Philadelphia.
FIS Group, Inc. is an 20-year old Philadelphia based institutional asset management firm that focuses on investing in long-only global and international equity strategies.

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