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Investing Ideas
Whitepaper: The Case for Active Management within Agency MBS
Investors should consider an allocation to agency MBS because, as an asset class with little to no credit risk, it has historically delivered strong absolute and risk-adjusted returns, with low correlation to equities. MBS have demonstrated their defensive capabilities across a variety of market conditions, making it an attractive asset class in today’s environment. MBS’ favorable liquidity profile combined with its inherent complexity creates alpha opportunities, making it an attractive candidate to potentially add both alpha and diversity in sources of return to an investor’s portfolio.
Investing Ideas
Securitized Market Overview
This piece is approved to use with clients.
Securitizations are financial instruments created via the bundling of contractual debts, such as mortgages, or other assets that generate receivables, such as franchise fees. These bundles are then sold to investors, who collect the income from the underlying obligations.
Investing Ideas
Whitepaper: The Case for CLOs
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Key Takeaways
- CLOs offer portfolios of floating-rate bank loans securitized across the rating spectrum. The availability of floating-rate bonds is limited in the U.S., and the choices for high quality floating-rate securities is even more limited, yet around 80% of CLOs carry a credit rating from A to AAA.
- Relative to the investment-grade corporate credit market, CLOs have offered a consistent yield premium across the rating spectrum, in some cases as much as two times the yield offered over U.S. Treasuries.
- In an environment where interest rates are low and the risk of higher Treasury yields has risen, allocations to AAA rated CLOs may help investors diversify a traditional fixed income portfolio, offering lower volatility, higher credit-quality and less sensitivity to any rise in interest rates.
Investing Ideas
A Potential Turning Point in the Battle Against COVID-19
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Delivering better-than-expected trial data, a vaccine candidate from Pfizer and BioNTech could mark the beginning of the end of the pandemic and boost confidence in an economic recovery, now underway.
Investing Ideas
Evaluating Stocks as Growth Continues to Grow
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Portfolio Manager Doug Rao discusses the phenomenon of concentrated market leadership and what that means for long-term investors.
Key Takeaways
- When market returns are driven by a handful of stocks, active investors face difficult decisions, especially when underweighting or not owning these stocks may significantly impact portfolio performance.
- The recent phenomenon of large-cap tech stocks driving a significant portion of stock market gains may be justified by the fact that these companies are strongly tied to themes related to digital disruption.
- Investors may benefit from focusing on competitively advantaged companies positioned to profit from these themes, which have only accelerated amid the COVID-19 pandemic and are likely to persist over the coming months and years.
Investing Ideas
Sustainable Design in Consumer Products
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An in-depth look at the role of sustainability in consumer products.
Key Takeaways:
- The apparel sector is well known for its detrimental effects on the environment. However, as consumers become more aware of their own environmental footprints, there has been a surge in demand for sustainable goods.
- A circular economy is based on the principles of designing out waste and pollution, keeping products and materials in use, and regenerating natural systems.
- Companies including Nike, Adidas and DS Smith have incorporated a circular approach to the design and production of their goods, creating durable and long-lasting products with a reduced environmental footprint.
Goals/Needs-Based Investing
Behavioral Advisor Perspectives and Practices for Uncharted Waters
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These are uncertain times. We work with great advisors that have shared their observations and resources with us and we thought you might find some of this helpful.
Goals/Needs-Based Investing
Getting back on track: A guide to smart rebalancing
Our research team reviewed the benefits of rebalancing, analyzed the impact of different rebalancing frequencies and thresholds, and developed strategies to minimize rebalancing costs.
Goals/Needs-Based Investing
Behavioral Advisor: The Power of Planning
This piece is approved to use with clients.
Planning is a powerful tool to help investors succeed and achieve better outcomes. The table below highlights the benefits of planning taken from a study on retirement planning among Americans over age 50.
Goals/Needs-Based Investing
Vanguard Advisor's Alpha
This Vanguard Research Insight piece explains why, when adding value is the goal, advisors may be better served by changing their performance benchmark from the market’s return to the returns that investors might achieve on their own, without professional guidance.