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Investing Ideas
Securitized Market Overview
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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.
Behavioral Finance
Behavioural Advisor: Does the Election Matter?
The presidential election has generated especially strong emotions this go-around. Both sides fear the other candidate will win and many believe that as a result the economy will go into a death spiral. This fear is driving many investors out of the market, waiting on the sidelines for the outcome. A look at past elections and market returns suggests they’ll be missing out.
Behavioral Finance
Invest for The Decade, Not the Year
Sharing helpful data like decade-returns of the market can motivate investors to focus on the long-term and avoid costly behavioral mistakes.
Behavioral Finance
Behavioral Advisor Perspectives and Practices: Practical Planning Is Your Compass
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The next several weeks are going to be challenging for advisors and investors. The reality of the scope and severity of the pandemic along with the associated economic and market damage will hit home raising fear levels to new highs. In these times, it will be hard not to overreact, panic or lose hope. Strong emotions and behavioral biases including, anchoring, loss aversion, cascading and availability bias can cloud our thinking and lead to poor decision making. Engaging in realistic and practical planning discussions along with relevant behavioral coaching can provide essential support during these challenging times.
Behavioral Finance
Behavioral Advisor Perspectives and Practices: Responding vs. Reacting
Beneficial long-term decisions often feel counter-intuitive at the time, but don’t underestimate the value of a steady hand when things seem the most grim.
Behavioral Finance
How Long Can A Good Fund Look Bad?
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It’s only natural for someone invested in a poorly performing active equity mutual fund to wonder if it’s time to make a change. Should an investor sell a fund if it trails its benchmark for a year? Three years? Five years?