Insights
Portfolio Managers Matthew McLennan, Kimball Brooker and Matt Lamphier discussed the ongoing market volatility, the impact it had on portfolio performance during the first
The emergence of the novel coronavirus and the economic impact of efforts to contain its transmission led to a deep, sharp repricing of risk assets during the first quarter as liquidity concerns emerged across financial markets. The first-quarter market rout began as a typical flight to safety, with risk assets declining sharply while traditional safe havens rallied.
In the second quarter of 2020, the high yield market recouped much of the steep loss it had suffered in the first quarter of the year. The turning point for the market appeared to be the Federal Reserve’s March announcement that it would take aggressive measures to counteract the economic effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.
We think the key issue investors need to consider is where we stand in the fight against Covid-19. Though financial markets are acting as if the pandemic’s impact has reached an inflection point, epidemiological data would suggest otherwise. Confirmed cases have exceeded 12 million worldwide and deaths more than 500,000, and these numbers continue to grow.
The price of gold was volatile in a momentous first quarter that saw both the emergence of a global health crisis and a significant correction in global equity markets, though the metal very much served its purpose as a potential hedge against extreme outcomes.
Watch Matt McLennan on Consuelo Mack’s WealthTrack to hear his view on how this pandemic has exposed a number of vulnerabilities in the world and financial markets and how he’s managing through the
“Don’t fight the Fed.” This old adage has been proven right over many short time periods, second quarter 2020 the most recent among them.
Gold’s unique risk-return characteristics have given it the rare ability to maintain its real value in both inflationary and deflationary environments, while also serving as a potential hedge against extreme equity market drawdowns and thus a source of resilience for stock portfolios.
Entering 2020 there were a variety of indicators—including massive sovereign and corporate debt balances, the continued debasement of man-made money, and heightened political tensions.
While it’s true a large proportion of the “new economy” names that dominated markets in recent years call the US home, there is no shortage of companies worldwide whose combination of scarce assets
Portfolio Managers Matthew McLennan, Kimball Brooker and Matt Lamphier discussed recent market volatility and what may lie ahead.
In our year-end 2019 commentary we talked about the importance of portfolio balance given our wariness of the indicators suggesting 2020 could be a very good year for equities. While we noted that an exogenous shock could throw upbeat market calculations askew, neither we nor anyone else anticipated the emergence of a global pandemic that would exert a powerful impact on markets and economies.
On April 7, 2020, we spoke with Idanna Appio about recent market developments and the potential short- and long-term macroeconomic impacts of the coronavirus pandemic.
Investors initially downplayed news of the novel coronavirus outbreak in China, and equity indexes continued to press higher for the first weeks of 2020 as they did for much of 2019, led by growth-
The latest Social Security Trustees Report revealed that the program’s 75-year deficit had increased and the depletion of the Social Security trust fund continues to be projected for 2035.
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