Thoughts, ideas and insight from the top minds in the investment world
By Jack Forehand (@practicalquant) — Since I was twelve years old, I have been very active in competitive sailboat racing. It is a great respite from the world of managing quantitative investing portfolios that I exist in during the week. And it offers me an opportunity to be outside, work together with other people in a team, and stimulate my mind with the tactics and strategy that are involved. When I was younger, my experience with… Read More
By John Reese (@guruinvestor) — It’s been over a decade since the financial crisis that led to the deepest economic downturn since the Great Depression, one that pulled the financial rug—and jobs– out from under nine million people and led to foreclosures on approximately eight million homes. Berkshire CEO Warren Buffett—who was born in 1930—appreciates the lessons learned by both events, so much so that in the hallways of his company’s Omaha, Nebraska headquarters he… Read More
At the Aspen Institute’s 25th Annual Summer Celebration Gala in August, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon warned that a 5 percent yield on the 10-year Treasury is in the offing. This according to an article in Bloomberg. “You’d better be prepared to deal with rates 5 percent or higher—it’s a higher probability than most people think,” Dimon said. Notwithstanding, he expressed a positive general outlook, saying the current bull market could “actually go on for… Read More
A recent Vanguard blog discusses the challenges faced when trying to predict a market downturn. “While all bear markets involve a loss of investor confidence,” it says, “an assortment of factors can cause them,” including change in monetary policy, political events, and overvalued stocks. Even if you could predict such factors, the article argues, it’s hard to tell how they would affect equities. The article illustrates the differences between the last two bear markets—namely, the… Read More
Leon Cooperman and Steven Einhorn of Omega Advisors have worked together for 40 years and have nearly 100 years of investment experience between them, according to an article in Barron’s that shares highlights of an interview with the two moguls. Cooperman and Einhorn “expect the bull market in U.S. equities to run for a while longer,” the article reports, “given relatively friendly valuations and Federal Reserve policy.” Bonds are another story, however. In the interview,… Read More
“America’s biggest companies are reporting some of the strongest earnings growth since the recession, boosted by lower tax rates and a robust U.S. economy that is fueling demand across industries.” This according to an article in The Wall Street Journal. The article explains that robust consumer and business spending, along with higher commodity costs and tariff concerns have prompted companies to raise their prices. While profits are being supported by the recent corporate tax cut,… Read More
Below are links to our most popular posts for this week on Validea’s Guru Investor blog. [1] Could Simple be the New Complex? [2] Value Investor Channels Buffett [3] Swedroe on Factors in Emerging Market Stocks [4] Passive Investing Could Cause Market Trouble ——- Photo: Copyright: arcady31 / 123RF Stock Photo
A recent Barron’s article profiles value investor Fred Copper, lead manager of the Columbia Overseas Valuefund, who has learned that the best way to beat his benchmark (the MSCI EAFE Value index) is to “not invest like it.” Copper has adopted a more flexible definition of value than some of his peers, based on his belief that traditional style benchmarks for value funds include a significant amount of cyclicality–meaning they include stocks that are sensitive… Read More
In a recent article for ETF.com, BAM Alliance director of research Larry Swedroe outlines findings of an August 2018 study on factor-based investing titled, “The Cross-Section of Equity Returns in Emerging Markets.” Among the many findings of the study–which covers 27 emerging market countries for the period between 1988 and 2014—here are some highlights: Size, value and momentum anomalies are statistically significant using value-weighted portfolios; After controlling for company size, the book-to-market ratio and momentum… Read More
Index investing in the commodities market hasn’t done so well, according to an article in The Wall Street Journal. The article cites data from Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA Research, who said that since January 1970, investors who held the S&P 500 for at least 12 years would “always have had positive returns including dividends.” Commodity indexes, however, have not provided that type of return, says PNC investment strategist Amanda Agati, who argues… Read More
Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix and Google parent Alphabet “can’t get away from each other,” says an article last month by Bloomberg columnist Nir Kaissar, who argues, “But look closely and it’s no longer clear why they should be lumped together at all.” For example, Kaissar points out, the Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS) classifies neither Amazon nor Netflix as tech companies–but rather tags Amazon as a retailer and Netflix as an entertainment company. As of… Read More