The U.S. economy has been growing for nine straight years—but current macroeconomic indicators hint that the good times may be coming to an end as soon as next year.
Italy’s proposed coalition collapsed over the weekend after the president refused to accept euroskeptic Paolo Savona as Minister of Finance. Markets have since reacted, with Italian government bond yields rising above their eurozone counterparts. Unsurprisingly, with the possibility of another election in the cards, market sentiment has shifted to risk-off in light of the political uncertainty.
Fiscal stimulus in the U.S. and newly imposed tariffs make today's late-cycle bull market stand apart from previous ones. Does this mean it could end differently too?
A strong start for markets in January was quickly replaced by uncertainty and volatility, which continue to this day. How might the rest of the year play out?
We believe there are five primary constraints for the UK that will push it toward a soft Brexit when it officially leaves the EU next March.
The first quarter of 2018 was plagued by volatility in equity markets. How did active managers fare in light of this?
Commodity prices have picked up steam recently, particularly in energy and metals. How long could the surge last?
In the first of a three-part series on getting returns in today’s bull market while protecting against the downside—running with the bulls without getting trampled, as we like to say—Global CIO Jeff Hussey explains why using put and call options may help.
On March 16, news broke that British political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica had gained improper access to data from as many as 50 million Facebook users (an estimate that has since been upped to 87 million).
The slope of the U.S. Treasury yield curve is often one of the more reliable precursors of a recession. Is it hinting that an economic downturn may be brewing in the not-too-distant future?
See what our quarterly survey of global fixed-income investment firms reveals about expectations for increasing interest rates, market volatility and emerging market currencies.
Is change in the wind for global investment markets and economies? See what our strategists’ views are for the second quarter of 2018 and beyond.
With new chair Jerome Powell at the helm, the Fed increased borrowing costs today for the sixth time since the U.S. economic expansion began. Can markets expect continued rate hikes under Powell's watch?
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision essentially wipes the Fiduciary Rule off the books. But, that doesn’t mean everything returns to the way it was before the Rule.
2017 was a record-breaking year for the $20 billion club—our name for the U.S. publicly-listed corporations with the largest pension liabilities—in at least five different ways. Contributions were double 2016 levels and nearly triple 2015 levels.
Are Fidelity Investments’ target date funds too risky? We evaluate the short and long-term risks for a typical participant.
We’ve developed a new way to measure a company’s ESG (environmental, social and governance) score. Our research suggests that these material ESG scores can potentially provide more insight than traditional ESG scores.
In the concluding piece of our three-part series on portfolio management best practices, Global CIO Jeff Hussey identifies the core capabilities we believe are necessary to successfully carry out a portfolio implementation strategy.
We respectfully disagree with BlackRock’s stance on U.S. and European equities. Here’s why.
The ability to withstand the next market correction may require making investment decisions that go against the grain. Can a multi-asset approach help?
During times of market volatility, we believe that exposure to in-between asset classes may be of increasing value. A look at their performance during the recent market downturn suggests as much.
U.S. inflation data for January came in stronger than expected. What effect could this have on future Fed interest rate increases?
In the second of a three-part series on portfolio management best practices, Global CIO Jeff Hussey discusses the importance of knowing the preferred position of your portfolio—and of anchoring tactical views to a set of strategic beliefs.
We believe that a multi-asset investing approach is instrumental to navigating today’s market volatility. Here’s how it’s working for us.
We believe Monday’s stock market pullback was likely driven by concerns over valuations, rather than fears of a recession. Here’s why.
Recent media coverage has often equated future Fed rate hikes as disastrous for the bond market. We explain why that’s unlikely to be the case.
Impactful innovation only occurs when OCIO providers work as true fiduciaries. We believe there are four OCIO innovations in particular that meet this bar.
As a provider of foreign exchange services that places a premium on robustness and transparency, we’re proud to have signed the FX Global Code. We believe others should follow suit.
At a time when equity valuations are at historic highs, increasing exposure means increasing risk. We believe there are better approaches that may help deliver a portfolio's required returns.
Some larger AUM managers can produce strong returns—but how? Our director of investment strategy research, Leola Ross, explores possible reasons and shares our preferences for evaluating managers with increasing AUM.
Which blog posts generated the most interest from readers in 2017? We wrap up the year with a look back at the top five most-viewed posts on the Russell Investments blog.
The U.S. Congress passed a significant bill today that makes sweeping changes to the country’s tax code. How much of a boost could the new law provide to financial markets and the nation’s economy?
The U.S. Federal Reserve (the Fed) delivered another rate hike today, raising its target policy rate by 25 basis points to a new range of 1.25-1.50%. The decision was widely anticipated by economists and fixed income investors.
Will the global growth momentum of 2017 carry over into next year? Is there a risk of a pullback in the short term? See what our strategists' views on global investment markets and economies are for the year ahead.
The U.S. economic expansion is now the third-longest on record. Does this mean a recession is looming? Senior Investment Strategist Paul Eitelman digs into the data and assesses the risks.
In the concluding piece of our three-part series on principles of the low-return imperative, we discuss why we believe investors can no longer take on risks they don't expect to get paid for—and identify two key risks we see as unrewarded.
In the second of a three-part series on principles of the low-return imperative, we zero in on the value of efficient implementation—and identify three ways it may help achieve desired outcomes.
Global CIO Jeff Hussey discusses why we believe having a clear view of your portfolio—with detailed, real-time knowledge down to the street level—is essential in today's market environment.
The Bank of England (BoE) has bitten the bullet and hiked the base interest rate from 0.25% to 0.5%, but in a dovish turn also provided forward guidance that outlines a very gradual path for future hikes. This was a close call with compelling arguments in favor and against.
By definition, mutual fund star-rating systems focus on past performance—not future results. We believe that the key to identifying potential outperformers lies in extensive manager research—and that's what we do.
In a recently-released report from Clear Path Analysis, multi-asset solutions team members Brian Meath and Rob Balkema explain why we believe a multi-asset investing strategy is the right approach.
Currency Strategist Van Luu shows how thoughtful management of currency risks and opportunities may help reach investing objectives, despite the low return environment.
In the first of a three-part series on principles of the low-return imperative, we go under the covers and explain why infrastructure investment may help investors improve the probability of achieving their objectives.
In today’s expensive U.S. equity market, valuation may be more paramount than ever—and not necessarily just in the long term.
Harvard University’s endowment has transitioned from a portfolio of asset class sleeves to a generalist investment model—an approach we see clearly as multi-asset. At Russell Investments, we made the same move eight years ago—and are proud of the single, globally integrated investment team we have today.
The final installment of our 2017 global market outlook is here. See our strategists’ views on global investment markets and economies.
The data suggests that future market returns are likely to be lower than in the past. Can a multi-asset investing approach help make up the difference?
It’s no secret that Russell Investments expects active managers with relatively low assets under management to have better average performance. But as Investment Strategist Leola Ross explains, increasing assets under management is not necessarily the kiss of death.
Environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing has led to a spike in reduced-carbon portfolios. But the standard investing approach may actually be lowering exposure to carbon alternatives like renewable energy.
The Federal Reserve is widely anticipated to begin the process of balance sheet normalization, or quantitative tightening, this fall. What kind of impact to markets is expected?
