Many variables can fuel the performance of commodities and international stocks. Over the past 10 years, according to JP Morgan, a 1% drop in the Dollar has been associated with a 1.4% increase in Dollar-denominated commodity returns (CRB), and a 2.4% increase in international stocks (Dollar-denominated MSCI ACWI Ex-US). If Fed purchases and/or slow U.S. [...]
Tag Archives: asset allocation
Interest Rates…How Low Can You Go?
This chart shows the yield of the 10-year U.S. Treasury from 09/30/1980 through 09/30 of this year. It is split by 10-year intervals showing the annualized return due to a decline in rates. But, rates cannot fall below zero. It may be a good time to evaluate fixed income allocations. Source: J.P. Morgan Tweet
New Client Articles
We’ve added 5 new Client Articles: A Primer on Hedge Funds Benefits of Diversification Financial Steps to Take When Someone Dies In Case of Emergency Make the Most of Company Benefits The Asset Allocation Puzzle {more} Tweet
Do hedge funds hedge?
…the experience of the Great Recession Source: Vanguard | 06/03/2010 The recent Great Recession provides a unique opportunity to examine the experience of hedge fund investors. Many investors believe that hedge fund managers have the flexibility to avoid the disastrous consequences of extreme market events. However, during the turmoil of the past few years, [...]
Foreign Intrigue
U.S. Stocks with Heavy Foreign Exposure: Company Listed followed by its % of Sales Outside North America Colgate-Palmolive 81 Avon Products 77 Coca-Cola 74 Autodesk 72 Aflac 72 Merck & Co. 70 Waters 70 Caterpillar 66 Nike 66 3M 64 Pfizer 58 Proctor & Gamble 57 You may be surprised by how big your foreign exposure is, [...]
Opportunities in International Investing
More and more, we are finding it easier to justify our higher allocations to international equities. Roughly 55% of the investable equity universe, by market cap, is outside of the U.S. Also, world GDP has outpaced the U.S. GDP every year this decade; moreover, emerging markets have seen average GDP growth since 2000 of 5.9% [...]
Two-Thirds Don’t Have a Financial Plan
Despite increasing pressure to slash debt and rebuild retirement funds, nearly two-thirds of consumers do not have a written financial plan, according to the 2009 National Consumer Survey on Personal Finance. The survey, released today by the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, found that 64% of respondents do not have a written financial plan [...]