Asset Allocation

Thoughts on recent market volatility and implications for investors from Head of Franklin Templeton Institute, Stephen Dover.

Is a “lost decade” ahead for markets?

Sharp, countertrend rallies may continue this year, but aggressive Fed policy, the turning of the liquidity tide, and slower economic growth will likely keep pressure on stocks.

We strongly believe that the traditional benchmark-led approach to investing in emerging market debt can be far from optimal.

The first half of the year has so far been challenging for investors in municipal bonds.

Through rising real yields, a slowing economy and poor seasonality, short-term headwinds remain for gold and precious metals.

Has the global investment environment which we have grown accustomed to over the past few decades fundamentally changed?

The bear has ended a long hibernation.

With economies scrambling for alternatives to Russian fossil fuels, Dina Ting, our Head of Global Index Portfolio Management, offers perspective on single-country portfolio exposure to other world oil producers.

Soaring commodity prices have helped drive inflation to 8.5%, by far the highest level in the last few decades.

Since the global financial crisis, assets in private credit have grown exponentially as investors search for yield while protecting against inflation and rising interest rates.

Research Affiliates discusses the intriguing long-term outlook for value stocks, and provides insights on the models that underpin its asset class forecasts.

John Paul Lech, Lead Manager of the Matthews Emerging Markets Equity Fund, explains the potential value that unique real estate equities can offer emerging market-growth portfolios.

Looking for a tactical way to de-risk your portfolio? You might consider rotating a portion of your equity allocation into high-yield bonds.

Wylie Tollette, Head of Client Investment Solutions with Franklin Templeton Investment Solutions, joins the head of the Franklin Templeton Institute, Stephen Dover, for a conversation on the recent equity market selloff.

Investor sentiment has become so bearish that it’s bullish.

The Strategic Investment Conference wrapped up this week with another wave of strong, fascinating speakers and panels. Today I have more to share and, as you’ll see, the plot thickened considerably.

Rising yields, wider spreads, and heightened market volatility are providing an attractive environment, but caution in credit selection is warranted.

In our latest insight, we analyze the recent DALBAR study to determine how well (or not well) active fixed-income investors performed during the bull market and explain what we believe will be the best approach for fixed-income investing given the start of a pro-inflation paradigm shift.

The geopolitical crisis in Ukraine creates a stagflationary shock for global economies. The plan to fight inflation just got far more complicated for global central banks.

Heightened market volatility has led to misconceptions about credit, in our view. We dispel four of them here.

U.S. stocks suffered another day of losses Monday, as the market continued to weigh the risk that the Federal Reserve’s aggressive anti-inflation campaign could push the economy into recession.

Through rising real yields, a slowing economy and poor seasonality, short-term headwinds remain for gold and precious metals.

“Don’t be bearish.” That was the message delivered by a Wall Street Journal article in August 2021.

Investor interest and participation in private markets continues to grow.

We assess risks and potential opportunities for multi-asset portfolios amid late-cycle dynamics, higher inflation, rising interest rates, and geopolitical uncertainty.

Regular readers of WisdomTree blogs know that we are firm believers in both asset class and risk factor diversification when building our Model Portfolios.

My good friend Ben Hunt of Epsilon Theory has written what I think is one of his most powerful letters ever. He’s basically saying the Fed just isn’t going to make it. I wish I had written it. He is such a wordsmith. With that, let’s turn it over to Ben.

In a market environment of low bond yields and record high equity valuations, it’s time to look beyond simple asset-class diversification. A covered call strategy could provide clients with potential for growth, income and downside protection.

Russ Koesterich, Managing Director and Portfolio Manager of the Global Allocation team, discusses the case for the cheaper segments of growth stocks.

With the world economy still recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic and now dealing with the Ukraine-Russia crisis, markets face a great deal of uncertainty.

Disaster is a strong but appropriate word that applies perfectly to the state of U.S. monetary policy.

U.S. stocks fell Friday, extending a run of weekly losses into its third straight week, as investors reacted to a handful of disappointing earnings reports and the Federal Reserve’s increasingly aggressive language about future interest rate increases.

Is it still a “bear market rally?”

An often overlooked and underutilized fixed-income alternative, preferred securities offer investors compelling diversification and income opportunities in today's volatile, rising interest rate environment. With yields and returns comparable to high-yield fixed income, today's preferred securities have evolved into a distinct and attractive income-generating asset class.

The countries’ weight in global trade is relatively small, but outsize exports of raw and semi-finished goods may portend price hikes across a variety of industries.

An unusually strong tug of war between economic forces is playing out in global markets, with a booming economy and low unemployment offset by the effects of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and expanded inflation. Expectations over the timing and magnitude of Fed interest rate increases rapidly evolved as clarity began to emerge around central bank responses to inflation.

Over the past decade it has seemed like Value investors have been very much left on the sidelines, bemoaning rampant speculation and valuations untethered from fundamental reality, while Growth investors have, quite frankly, been living it up in some style.

China’s currency, the renminbi (RMB), remains strong even though many of the factors that have driven its performance over the last two years have weakened.

Central to my market and macro outlook at present is the likelihood we are amid a growth cycle downturn that is looking to decelerate meaningfully in the coming months.

Underlying oil market fundamentals – good ol’ supply and demand – are as bullish as they have been over the past decade, says Pavel Molchanov, Managing Director and Energy Analyst for Raymond James Equity Research.

It's no secret that in fixed income markets, excess performance above the benchmark is difficult to achieve over the long run.

With the US Federal Reserve (Fed) and other central banks going down the path of increasing policy rates, it seemed a good time to look at market impacts over the last 40 years or so.

Given that (1) investors have benefitted from a market environment that reliably produced a source of positive returns from a 60/40 mix, and (2) we’ve just completed the best period for that mix in nearly 70 years of tracking, why would an investor want to consider a change?

Diverse opportunities in Global Convertibles, as well as structural features, provide tailwinds to counter rising rates and equity volatility. In rising rate environments, convertibles have historically done quite well relative to longer-duration traditional fixed income investments.

There is no shortage of headwinds facing both the market and the economy: the tragic Russian invasion of Ukraine and attendant commodity/energy crisis; the Federal Reserve's transition from accommodative to tighter monetary policy; and increased chatter of a recession on the horizon; among others.