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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.
Fixed Income Insights
ISG Insight: A mostly benign outlook for US inflation
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The stabilisation of US economic growth amid unprecedented fiscal and monetary stimulus has raised questions about the likelihood of inflation returning. Jim Cielinski, Global Head of Fixed Income, and Andrew Mulliner, Global Bonds Portfolio Manager, both members of the Fixed Income ISG, explain why they do not see significant risks of sustained higher inflation materialising in the next few years, though caution that short-term spikes are possible and investors should evaluate the diversity that their fixed income portfolios provide.
Fixed Income Insights
The Dire Outlook for Bonds in the Wake of COVID-19
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Over the coming decade or two, bonds are unlikely to fulfill their dual role of income and capital preservation. Bond investors will be forced to choose between income or capital preservation, and there is a good chance they could end up with neither.
Fixed Income Insights
The Dangers in High Yield Bonds & CLOs
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Worth the Risk? Investors in this space have always emphasized higher levels of income or growth rather than capital preservation. While these investments are often termed “speculative,” are investors truly aware of the amount of risk in these asset classes?
Fixed Income Insights
Chasing Yield
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The Dangers and Pitfalls of Fixed Income in a Low-Yield World
Fixed Income Insights
The Dire Outlook for Bonds in the Wake of COVID-19
This piece is approved to use with clients.
Over the coming decade or two, bonds are unlikely to fulfill their dual role of income and capital preservation. Bond investors will be forced to choose between income or capital preservation, and there is a good chance they could end up with neither.
Investing Ideas
Combining Factors to Target Specific Investment Outcomes
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A white paper that explores using a factor-based approach to portfolio construction. By combining factor exposures, investors can create a "core" equity portfolio and by adjusting the factor allocations can tailor their portfolios to their own particular investing style/desired outcome.