Institutional investors focus on ESG and Alternatives as volatility returns

-

This article in Business Wire crossed my desk and may be of interest to some clients. Interestingly, I have been looking to incorporate ESG into our investment strategy with new partners. Here is a part of the article: Volatility finally roared back to abnormally tame markets, but most institutional investors were already bracing for impact; their efforts to diversify and build durable portfolios may now pay off, according to new survey findings released by Natixis Investment Managers.

Seventy-eight percent of institutional investors expected stock market volatility to spike in 2018, and they are making opportunistic allocations to active management and alternative investments in order to help meet average long-term return assumptions of 7.2% this year.

Natixis’ Center for Investor Insight surveyed 500 institutional investors around the world to gain insight about how they are balancing long-term objectives with short-term opportunities and pressures. 7 in 10 investors agreed that the addition of alternatives is important for diversifying portfolio risk. Yet they see a number of alternative strategies playing distinct roles in their portfolios.

You can read the full article HERE.

Popular posts from this blog

Same old same old

-
Image
It is easy to get sucked into anything. Who cares? After a long time in the markets, it really does not matter to me whether this is a bubble or not or a new crash will come tomorrow. Forget about the sales pitches, it is more important whether I make money or not in any situation. I can be a bull or bear running different strategies at the same time. Outlook or opinion pieces that we hear out there everyday provide a framework to view and guide things. It is important to have a disciplined system with cookie cutters and work within it and continue to adjust the portfolio if necessary as market conditions evolve. Volatile assets can produce above-average returns, but often expose the investor to deep and sometimes frequent drawdowns. That creates more opportunities to sell the investment and miss out on the gains. What about Bitcoin or whatever? I read articles about Bitcoin on both ends every single day. The claims of a Bitcoin and cryptocurrency bubble are nothing new....
Read more

The US dollar comedy

-
Image
As I scan the news articles everywhere, I have noticed almost everyone and his dog is becoming increasingly bearish on the US dollar. The US Dollar Index was one of the major disappointments of 2017, depreciating by 9.0% and putting in its worst performance since 2003. Effectively, the dollar will get thrashed again in 2018 is the popular view.  Some of the analysts argued that all good news is already priced in the US dollar. It makes sense from the fundamental perspective. However, lots of things make sense in the investing world until Mr. Market decides to prove rationales flawed. Just ask the old timers who have seen enough in the markets. According to the latest Commitment of Traders report, released on December 29 by the Chicago Futures Trading Commission, large speculators reduced their net short positions on the US dollar. I do care about fundamentals. Over time, the macroeconomic fundamentals will reassert themselves. The key is interest rate different...
Read more

Investing in Hedge Funds

-
Image
The fears of hedge fund troubles will never go away. Most experts agree that hedge funds are part of the solution for any well-diversified portfolio. But still, some local private and other institutional investors are reluctant to use them, even if their regulations allow. For some, hedge funds are synonymous with “risk”. Indeed, hedge funds have been featured regularly in the mainstream news, and not surprisingly much of the reporting in the media has been negative or rather sensational in my view. Of course, a few investors from my meetings are ahead of others that they have already gained some real investment experience with hedge funds. Hedge funds may invest and trade in many different markets, strategies and instruments with various risk characteristics. Hedge funds employ innovative trading strategies. Their strategies can include taking both long and short positions, using leverage and derivatives. Some may only consist of a small investment team or may depend on...
Read more