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Insights

With decades of experience investing in global equity markets, our portfolio managers develop quarterly Market Outlook and Investment Insights features to provide insight into our thoughts and views and to help our clients navigate the global equity markets. Read our Insights below, or subscribe to have new Insights delivered to your email.

Market Outlook

2023: It's Been a Wild Ride, Where to From Here?

Market Outlook: 4Q 2023

One year ago, market participants were anticipating a recession. Inflation had reared its ugly head after several decades of dormancy and caused the world’s most important Central Bank (the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank) to raise policy rates dramatically. Higher rates had driven down stock prices the world over in anticipation of the economic slowdown they were meant to bring about. In the end, not only did the recession not materialize but stocks reversed course from 2022 and rallied, spectacularly! But how? Why?...

2023: Interest Rates Return to Rule the World

Market Outlook: 3Q 2023

The gray-haired among us will remember a time long ago, foreign to many if not most of today’s market participants: a time when interest rates mattered. That time may well have returned and prudent investors in today’s markets would be well served to pay much closer attention to what is going on in bond markets in order to appreciate where global equity markets are likely headed...

This Is What a Soft Landing Looks Like, People

Market Outlook: 2Q 2023

As mythical creatures go, you’ve got Leprechauns, Mermaids, Unicorns, the Loch Ness Monster and Big Foot among others. Disney caused a bit of stir recently by putting a mermaid in a movie, but that was nothing like the stupefaction being foisted on global investors right now at the prospect that...

Volatility Rears its Head... Again!

Market Outlook: 1Q 2023

In order to try and make any sense of what is going on in the world's financial markets it is essential to have a sense of history, both long-term and recent. Investors have had a particularly difficult time lately trying to figure out which way to go. The global economy is complicated and difficult to decipher...

And the Winner is...

Market Outlook: 4Q 2022

Picking Fights with the Fed

Market Outlook: 3Q 2022

Tug of War

Market Outlook: 2Q 2022

Stock Picking is Back!

Market Outlook: 1Q 2022

The Return of Volatility

Market Outlook: 4Q 2021

Investment Insights

Creating Value from "Corporate Value-Up"

Investment Insights:

March 2024

The reforms taken by the Japanese government, discussed in our November 2023 issue, seem to be working as the Japanese equity market has decoupled from the other international markets in the last year, besting most of the markets outside of the United States. The outperformance of Japanese equities has not gone unnoticed. South Korea’s Financial Services Commission (FSC) just announced a similar plan to the one in Japan called “Corporate Value-up Program”. In this report, we analyze some of the underlying idiosyncrasies of the Korean market and conclude that the Value-Up Program will take time to be impactful.

When Cash is Not King

Investment Insights: November 2023

Historical data show that global equity market leadership tends to run in long cycles with new winners and losers every decade. The Emerging Markets outperformed in the 2000’s while the last decade was dominated by US equities. One only has to go back to the 1980’s to find a period when Japanese equities led global markets. Since then, the Japanese equity market has languished. Over the last year, however, Japanese equities have started to work again. This begs the question: will the rally persist, and can Japan be the “must own” asset class of the next decade?

Market Breadth in International Equities

Investment Insights:

July 2023

There has been much focus on the recent weak market breadth in US equities driven primarily by mega-caps stocks. There are several ways to calculate market breadth, but the objective is the same and that is to understand whether there is broad participation in the underlying index movement. If an index is rising and most of the underlying stocks are also up, then this indicates a broad healthy market condition...

Is Active Investing Making a Comeback?

Investment Insights:

April 2023

The debate on passive versus active management has been ongoing for multiple decades since the first index investment trust was introduced in the 1970s. While passive investing is here to stay, we believe that the pendulum has swung too far in favor of passive and we see active management regaining some lost ground, especially in the current environment of higher interest rates, higher inflation and macro uncertainty...

Why Intl Equities Could Outperform

Investment Insights: January 2023

Changing Dynamics in Emerging Mkts

Investment Insights: October 2022

Have Buybacks Peaked?

Investment Insights: April 2022

Can Emerging Mkts Make a Comeback?

Investment Insights: January 2022

Taking Pulse of the Buffett Indicator

Investment Insights: October 2021

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