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Macroeconomic & Geopolitical
Japan Equities Outlook: What Can Tuna Auctions Tell Us About Future Market Trends?
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Junichi Inoue, Head of Japanese Equities, discusses why the Japanese stock market performed well last year despite its cyclicality and shares his outlook for a recovery in 2021.
Fixed Income Insights
Positioning for Higher Yields
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With higher government bond yields looking increasingly likely, Head of U.S. Fixed Income Greg Wilensky explains why investors should consider how much interest rate risk they have in their portfolios, and make sure it is appropriate for their needs.
Retirement
Plan Talk: How to Use Client Motivations to Encourage Better Social Security Decisions
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Many American workers fear that the Social Security trust could be depleted in the not-so-distant future, which may lead some individuals to collect their benefits early – a decision that can significantly reduce their earned benefit. In this episode of Plan Talk, Retirement Director Ben Rizzuto explains research-based techniques that can be used to help ensure people more fully consider their options and make better decisions regarding when to claim this important earned benefit.
Fixed Income Insights
The Shape of Credit
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In this Q&A, Portfolio Managers Jason England, Nick Maroutsos and Dan Siluk discuss the factors shaping credit markets, from central bank support to potential resilience from financials.
Key Takeaways
- Corporate earnings and cash flows are under strain, but while defaults are likely to increase, they should continue to be largely contained to sub-investment-grade issuers.
- Massive and proactive central bank support measures have injected confidence into markets, but this does not preclude sporadic bouts of future volatility and warrants a selective approach.
- We believe more resilient opportunities are likely to be found in higher-quality, shorter-dated investment-grade issues and continue to favor financial sector bonds and corporates with defensive attributes.
Fixed Income Insights
Building Bond Portfolios on a Strong Housing Market
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Conventional wisdom would suggest that rising unemployment would have discouraged consumers from making large contractual obligations like buying a new home, but the pandemic has affected the way many Americans think about housing. Portfolio Managers John Kerschner and Nick Childs discuss why this is happening and what it could mean for bond investors.
Fixed Income Insights
A Mostly Benign Outlook for U.S. Inflation
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The stabilization of U.S. economic growth amid unprecedented fiscal and monetary stimulus has raised questions about the likelihood of inflation returning. Global Head of Fixed Income Jim Cielinski explains why he does not see significant risk of sustained higher inflation materializing in the next few years – but cautions that short-term spikes are possible and that investors should evaluate the diversification that their fixed income portfolios provide.