A blog by Frederic Slade, CFA, Assistant Vice President and Senior Director, Investments, Pentegra Retirement Services – December 13, 2016 A closed-end fund (CEF) is a publicly-traded, managed investment vehicle regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). An open-end fund is also professionally managed…
A blog by Frederic P. Slade, CFA, Assistant Vice President, Senior Director of Investments, Pentegra Retirement Services – July 21, 2015 A financial headline reading something like, “Company X repurchased 50 million shares of its stock” has become a common one in recent years. According…
A blog by Frederic Slade, CFA, Assistant Vice President and Senior Director, Investments, Pentegra Retirement Services – September 20,2016 The Federal Reserve has been sending mixed signals as to the probability of an interest rate increase in September. The bond futures market is currently forecasting…
…including the dollar. Market Capitalization by Cryptocurrency (7/24/21) Sources: coin.dance.com, Bianco Research Regulators, governments and financial markets have been grappling with understanding and determining the direction of cryptocurrency. Given that this sector is constantly evolving, below is a summary of a few parallel developments: In…
…– 2.25%. Market expectations are for one additional increase in 2018 (four total for the year). Equity Markets Global equities continued their recovery in most markets in the 3Q of 2018. After recovering in the second quarter of 2018, US equities advanced into record territory…
…at best, and unemployment remained low (4.9% for August, the latest reading). Inflation was also contained as headline CPI for August was only 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equity Markets Equity markets provided positive returns for Q3; in fact, this was the fourth consecutive quarter…
…with the MSCI EAFE Index declining 3.0%; however, emerging markets equities were a bright spot and surged 5.7%. Fixed-Income Markets Bonds were the primary beneficiary of the 1Q16 equity market “roller coaster ride”. Interest rates declined significantly for intermediate- and long-term maturities while treasury-bill yields…
…historical norms (S&P US REIT Index, -0.7% 4th Quarter “4Q”; +2.4% Year-to-date “YTD”). Equity Markets US Equity markets broke nicely from the gate in 2013 (S&P 500 Index, +10.6% 1Q) and finished in robust fashion down the stretch (S&P 500 Index, +10.5% 4Q) for a…
…robust until unemployment reaches 6.5%. Outside of the U.S., government subsidies in China and European austerity measures have bifurcated overseas markets. Equity Markets U.S. equity markets provided substantial gains for the first quarter of 2013 (“Q1”). The S&P 500 Index, primarily representative of domestic large-cap…
…the Crimea, ISIS in Syria, Iran’s nuclear ambitions, the upcoming US elections – all of these and more have been labeled at one time or another as reasons that the US equity markets are at risk for a sell-off. The recent string of high-profile losses…
…sectors were the poorest performers, posting returns of -6.3% and -2.3%, respectively. Emerging Markets declined by -4.2% (5.9% YTD) while the MSCI EAFE Index (representative of developed non-U.S. equity markets) ended its rally, returning -1.0% (12.8% YTD). Fixed-Income Markets US interest rates continued at low…
…the poorest performers, posting returns of -0.5% and 0.8%, respectively. Emerging Markets rose by 11.7% (18.6% for the year) while the MSCI EAFE Index (representative of developed non-U.S. equity markets) returned 8.2% (22.8% for 2019). Fixed-Income Markets U.S. interest rates continued at low levels last…