The first half of the year has so far been challenging for investors in municipal bonds.
The Franklin Templeton Institute hosted the Global Investor Forum last week in New York featuring internal and external speakers with expertise across economics, history, foreign policy, sustainability and investment management.
Investors’ expectations that interest rates will not rise much may be very misguided.
What does baseball have in common with exchange-traded funds (ETFs)?
The war in Ukraine is shifting the conversation on what a post-COVID-19 world will look like.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine has added pressure to the inflationary cycle that began in late 2020.
Are the reserve banks too slow in tackling inflation? Will inflation level off by itself? Will rising rates cause a recession?
Are the reserve banks too slow in tackling inflation? Will inflation level off by itself?
The US Federal Reserve is turning increasingly hawkish—hiking rates fast enough to slow inflation while maintaining economic growth will be a monumental task.
Many investors see gold as a sort of haven in times of turmoil, and prices have surged amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The Fed struck a hawkish tone at its latest meeting, but Franklin Templeton Fixed Income Chief Investment Officer Sonal Desai believes it still underestimates how far rates will likely need to rise—and so do the markets.
Lead Portfolio Manager Steve Raineri and ESG Lead John Chow of the Franklin Small-Cap Value Team within Franklin Mutual Series discuss small company ESG investing, why it presents an opportunity and how ESG analysis helps investors become better stewards of client capital.
Mutual Series’ analysts see value opportunities in the financials sector as the interest-rate environment turns more favorable in the United States and European banks see greater clarity about the impact of the Russia-Ukraine war.
Head of Franklin Templeton Investment Institute, Stephen Dover, hosted a special webinar to discuss rising oil prices and the fundamentals that would impact them in the future.
Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) holding only Russian equities have had creations suspended and trading halted since the war in Ukraine commenced.
Consumers were feeling the pinch of higher energy prices even before Russia invaded Ukraine. Energy prices have surged to multi-year or record highs amid the war, and many are wondering if they still have further to go. Here, Franklin Equity Group’s Frederick Fromm shares his latest views on investing in the sector.
Supply-chain issues are often cited in the current debate about inflation—and aren’t going away as quickly as consumers and businesses would like. Our Franklin Templeton Investment Solutions team explores how supply chains became stuck, whether they will loosen up in 2022, and the implications for multi-asset investors.
As the Federal Reserve debates its monetary tightening timeline, the labor market is an important factor to watch in the year ahead, according to our Franklin Templeton Investment Solutions team. Read their thoughts on the labor market’s implications for both monetary policy and risk assets.
As another year of living with COVID-19 draws to a close, David Mann, Head of Global Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) Capital Markets, looks back on how the industry has fared in 2021—and how his prior predictions have unfolded.
Stephen Dover, Head of the Franklin Templeton Investment Institute, recently discussed growth, inflation, interest rates, and valuation...
The Fed seems to have been caught by surprise by its own policy and says this is not the inflation it was looking for.
In the ongoing discussion about liquidity and exchange-traded funds (ETFs), David Mann, Head of Global ETFs Capital Markets, examines a recent report outlining how ETFs have navigated the pandemic.
Insights from Franklin Templeton specialist investment managers Brandywine Global, Clarion Partners, ClearBridge Investments and Western Asset
The US Federal Reserve finally acknowledged inflation is not a “transitory” problem and signaled a greater degree of concern; but investors seem to think that the Fed will blink when markets balk.
Instead of purchasing the latest toy or electronic gadget for your children or grandchildren, what about giving them something that will last a lifetime and isn’t in limited supply: the gift of a more secure future. Sandra Palmer, Head of 529 Distribution for Franklin Templeton’s 529 College Savings Plan, discusses how crowdfunding can help finance a college education.
As we celebrate the holiday season and ponder what we are thankful for, it’s also time to take stock of one’s investments. Here, David Mann, Head of Global Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) Capital Markets, opines on an ETF anniversary he’s thankful for—and offers some tax-planning food for thought.
While the new US infrastructure investment bill didn’t have any initiatives directly targeting the municipal bond market, there are still implications for munis in the longer term, according to our Municipal Bond Director of Research Jennifer Johnston. She explains the ramifications for investors in the space.
Moderate inflation can be good, especially for some value stocks. Christian Correa breaks down why investors should not be afraid of the current inflationary or rising rate environments and explains how they can actually help some businesses and areas of the equity market.
While “growth” and “value” have typically been seen as distinct styles, that type of thinking continues to evolve, according to our investment professionals.
Bill Zox and John McClain, portfolio managers with Brandywine Global, join Amer Hasan to discuss how current market and economic conditions could benefit high yield investors, the opportunities and risks right now, and why the asset class is often overlooked or misunderstood.
With a new Prime Minister taking the helm in Japan, what does the future hold? Franklin Templeton Investment Solutions’ Gene Podkaminer and members of the research team take a look at both local and global trends influencing Japan—and why investors should pay more attention to the country.
Investors need a more flexible, opportunistic approach to investing, given the current low interest rate environment with the likelihood of interest rates rising over the next few years, according to Stephen Dover, Head of Franklin Templeton Investment Institute. He opines on inflation, debt, and changing economic sweet spots.
Successful international investing includes measuring financial risks and rewards caused by events in an affected country. Stephen Dover, Head of Franklin Templeton Investment Institute, discusses how macroeconomic and political research complemented by environmental, social and governance (ESG) research provides investors additional prisms to view a country’s financials, impacts on climate change, and geopolitical risk.
Of all recent economic trends, sluggish employment growth is perhaps the most important for investors to watch, says Franklin Templeton Fixed Income CIO Sonal Desai. She outlines why the labor market has been sluggish, and why it may remain that way for some time.
Energy prices have surged to multi-year highs amid the global economic recovery from COVID-19, contributing to larger-than-anticipated jumps in measures of headline inflation. While some policymakers had suggested inflationary forces would prove “transitory,” today many are questioning that thesis.
In this excerpt from our latest “Global Investment Outlook,” Franklin Equity Group Portfolio Manager Serena Perin Vinton discusses how her team thinks about environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing and the opportunities in investment-driven innovations levered to a more sustainable environment.
Rising inflation globally raises the question of whether inflation is persistent versus transitory, driving debate among our investment managers. Our Stephen Dover, Head of the Franklin Templeton Investment Institute, recently discussed economic growth, interest rates, and inflation during a roundtable,
The rise of environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing is nothing short of extraordinary, according to Yu Meng, Chair of Asia Pacific at Franklin Templeton. As we are constantly reminded by extreme climate change events, he says urgent actions are required from all of parts of society and the economy, including the financial markets.
A three-party coalition could soon govern Germany for the first time in the country’s history following recent elections. Matthias Hoppe, senior vice president and portfolio manager, Franklin Templeton Investment Solutions, believes uncertainty caused by coalition talks is likely to increase volatility in Europe’s financial markets, but changing a conservative attitude to public spending is the real challenge for a new government as Germany wrestles with the reality of increasing macro-economic imbalances and a stated aim to achieve carbon neutrality by 2045.
Investors spend a lifetime building a retirement nest egg. But once they retire—will it last?
Making It Last – Advanced Retirement Income Strategies for Everyday Investors offers key insights for developing a sustainable retirement income strategy for clients.
The German election resulted in change in party leadership, but market impact should be limited, according to David Zahn, our Head of European Fixed Income. He shares an overview of the election implications.
Investors and financial advisors alike want to understand the fascinating trends that are transforming the investment industry.
When diversification is a core principle for successful investing, what stops women from offering their talents in finance and investment careers?
There are several “paradigm shifts” impacting markets today, according to Templeton Global Macro CIO Michael Hasenstab. He outlines how central banks might approach tapering of pandemic-driven asset purchases, and the potential investment risks and opportunities he sees.
Our high yield corporate credit team has been monitoring how inflation is impacting various market sectors, with an eye on four factors: input cost inflation, pricing power, impact to earnings and repricing vulnerability.
Prices continue to climb, with the US CPI rising in June by the most since 2008.
In May, our municipal bond team published some thoughts on US President Biden’s $2 trillion infrastructure package called “The American Jobs Plan.” As this package makes its way through Congress, the team will provide updates—here’s the latest from our Muni Bond Director Jennifer Johnston.
Our Chief Market Strategist Stephen Dover explores how quantum computers will soon unlock and slice through infrastructure and financial systems’ public key cryptography.
Heading into the second half of the year, pandemic concerns are not completely in the rear-view mirror.
