Yes, and they have been for some time. Progress has been slow, but current market and regulatory conditions could enable a breakthrough. The impact will be felt primarily in the upper registers of the private equity arena. I’m viewing Vanguard’s recent private equity–related announcement as the first of a two-step process. The first step is […]
February 2020
No, we doubt the equity market’s heightened tech concentration will trigger an imminent correction. Rather, tech stocks’ outsized weighting reflects their superior growth and free cash flow this cycle. Amid a lackluster macroeconomic backdrop, historically low discount rates have boosted the appeal of the most profitable and liquid segment of the global equity universe, namely […]
February 2020
Investors should stay calm. While the Wuhan coronavirus is still spreading, the virus remains less deadly and more contained than the SARS outbreak of 2002–03. Looking at other epidemics, history suggests that after an initial sharp hit, economies and markets typically recover quickly.
January 2020
Yes, in the near term, but longer term we expect trade, tech, and possibly finances to decouple further. The “Phase One” trade agreement provides a much-needed truce in the tariff escalation between the United States and China, as trade uncertainty has weighed on financial conditions and further slowed global trade. While some progress has been […]
January 2020
Recent years have seen challenges for hedge funds and a shift toward low-fee passive and alternative risk premia (ARP) products in investor portfolios. In this paper, we investigate whether ARP and hedge funds are complementary or whether ARP funds are actually a viable replacement for hedge funds.
January 2020
Families of wealth face three key questions about intergenerational wealth planning: how best to invest to sustain future generations; how best to engage the next generation; and how best to ensure family unity endures. Often each question is addressed independently. We find that a conversation across generations about the impact of a meaningful venture capital allocation can help address all three questions in an integrated manner.
January 2020
The start of a new year and a new decade is an opportune time to reflect on megatrends that will be consequential over the next ten years. In this edition of VantagePoint, we focus on three such trends and their investment implications: disruption, demographics, and decoupling.
January 2020
We see opportunities to deploy capital in some niche areas of the investment landscape and reshape (or at least re-evaluate) some areas of the portfolio. Simultaneously, we are closely monitoring the lurch toward protectionist trade policies and their impact on global economic activity.
December 2019