Top Papers: April 2022

Top Investment Content from April 2022

Fears of the Fed aggressively frontloading their policy response to counter inflation, declining hopes of a resolution to the conflict in Ukraine and concerns about the implications to global economic growth of the widespread lockdowns across China have impacted both equity and bond markets during April. Yield curve inversion, often a warning of an upcoming recession and present earlier in the month, unsettled investors across major asset classes. Investor wariness and anticipation of rapidly rising interest rates have been reflected in the continued strength of the U.S. Dollar, its value having increased by over 5% during the month, trading at multi-year highs against several other leading currencies.

The 60/40 Portfolio’s Overdue Overhaul (PGIM Fixed Income, Mar 2022)

PGIM Fixed income updates the traditional 60/40 model portfolio so it can better cope with the demands placed upon it by the changing demands of retirement needs.

Fixed Income Views: The reckoning (Franklin Templeton Investments, Apr 2022)

For compliance reasons, this paper is only accessible in the EMEA region

In this paper from Franklin Templeton Investors, they examine what the implications of high inflation might be for fixed income investors.

Energy Crisis: Strategies to protect portfolios from inflation (Amundi, 2022)

For compliance reasons, this paper is NOT accessible in the United States

Amundi highlights strategies that investors might consider using to protect their portfolios from inflation.

Think EQuilibrium: 2022 Global institutional investor study (Nuveen)

Nuveen's survey of 800 global institutions finds that respondents are reconsidering traditional perspectives towards investing. More volatile markets, changing monetary policy from central banks and high inflation are largely behind the reassessment.

Strategic Sector Selector – A difficult balancing act (Invesco, Apr 2022)

For compliance reasons, this paper is only accessible in certain geographies

Invesco updates sector allocations in their global equity model, believing that their interest rate expectations favour growth over value. They overweight Media and Healthcare, while taking Real Estate to neutral and Energy to underweight.

Twitter: Valuation & corporate governance consequences (Aswath Damodaran, 2022)

Aswath Damodaran, Professor of Finance at the Stern School of Business at NYU, dissects the history of Twitter to see what influences it may have on the outcome of Elon Musk’s bid for the company.

Paying for Performance in Public Pension Plans (Wharton Business School, 2022)

The authors note the correlation between higher paid public pension plan CIOs and performance, noting that it may be worth between 47 and 60 basis points, led by superior returns in private equity and real estate.

Direct Air Capture: A key technology for net zero (IEA, 2022)

This report from the IEA investigates the growing interest in direct air capture technologies and facilities for extracting CO2 from the atmosphere. They identify the key drivers likely to influence investment and policy actions that need to be adopted.

U.S. Defined Contribution Plan Trends and Fee Survey Results (NEPC, 2022)

For compliance reasons, this paper is only accessible in the United States

The 16th annual NEPC survey of U.S. defined contribution plans identifies trends, themes, and changes in the DC plan landscape as they are forced to adapt to changing market conditions and more demanding plan participants.

Geopolitical Risks: Impact on commodities (Cogent Economics & Finance, 2022)

The authors investigate the usually negative impact of geopolitical risks, acts, and threats across a range of commodities, including crude oil, platinum, and sugar, among others.