Value managers must keep faith
Fitch Ratings’ latest findings on the underperformance of value-oriented stock picking, published last week, have made for interesting reading but, arguably, this tells us little that we dont already know.
Fitch Ratings’ latest findings on the underperformance of value-oriented stock picking, published last week, have made for interesting reading but, arguably, this tells us little that we dont already know.
When it’s three o’ clock in New York, it’s still 1938 in London, was Bette Midlers take on the divisions between the two great financial centres, while Ernest Hemmingway grumbled about the former being a town you come to for a short time.
The cavalry has arrived, or so the Central Banks would have us believe. But underneath all the trumpeting, the need for fiscal progress is still dire.
The IMA has taken the easy way out and copied the ABI’s mixed asset sector definitions so, unfortunately, the debate over how to categorise the various Managed Sectors is not over yet.
A ream of recent data shows big funds and fund houses still gain the bulk of investor and adviser support. Is this deserved or not, and should 2012 be the year for change?
The Government is encouraging UK pension schemes to invest in UK infrastructure projects although it needs external, possibly Chinese investors, alongside.
This weekend, Brad Pitt fans will be queuing for his latest blockbuster, Moneyball, about a baseball coach who follows an unconventional path to scouting and building a team though complicated statistical analysis, or sabermetrics.
The ultimate aim of making money may be common to investors and asset managers, but it doesn’t necessarily follow that their interests are aligned.
In a worrying development of the eurozone debt crisis today an auction of German bonds failed to attract enough bids for the 6bn on offer, proving Merkel is as much in the mire as the rest of ’em.
Investors who believe alpha is best delivered through an unconstrained approach should, despite the volatility they will see, show faith in those fund managers willing to invest against the grain.
Given Jim O’Neill’s updated – and more bullish – views on the emerging-now-growth economies of the BRIC countries, it is time for the IMF and similar bodies to change the way they are structured to reflect this.
The correlation of global markets is probably at its highest level ever, but surely not all economies deserve to be treated with equal disdain. So has Brazil’s recent under-performance presented an opportunity to pile in?