Asset Allocation

Inflation expectations have been on the rise since before the U.S. election, but markets are now more convinced of higher inflation to come due to President-elect Trump’s talk of fiscal stimulus and tax cuts. Measured by break-evens in the Treasury Inflation Protected Securities (TIPS) market, inflation expectations for the next 10 years rose to 1.93%, the highest level since the summer of 2015. The long decline in inflation seems to be turning, as the CPI climbed 1.6% year-over-year, the most in two years. This changing environment has piqued investor interest in TIPS, and in turn, TIPS ETFs.

We see attractiveness in using TIPS as an alternative for core Treasury allocations in fixed income portfolios. Here's why.

The potential for greater bond market volatility ahead associated with central bank policy uncertainties, and paltry expected returns, should make investors wanting to own government bonds for their perceived "safe" value think twice.

The chaos that will arise as trillions of dollars, yen, yuan and euros, etc. try to crowd through the fire exits as the asset bubbles pop will be monumental, and the...spikes in small asset class prices as the hot money floods in will be equally monumental. Word count: 348

While it is unclear what impact the next few interest rate hikes will have on the real economy the long term impact is a different story. A more active Fed may have an enormous impact on how investors build portfolios, a development we contemplate in this article.

The outcome of the upcoming presidential election can impact the markets and this article outlines investor sentiment and what many investment managers are doing in preparation for the election results.

The S&P 500, Treasury Bonds, and the U.S. Dollar Index look like candidates for the Great Collapse while gold, silver, and their stocks look like candidates for the Grand Ascension. This article explains why that is the case with supporting charts.

Natural resource stocks could make for a nice diversifier in a portfolio but I wonder how many investors have the intestinal fortitude to take advantage of that diversification. That’s the question investors need to answer before diving in.

This article reveals how gold, silver, PM mining stocks and the S&P 500 performed each year of the 4-year presidential election cycle, on average, and suggests how one should invest in the various assets in the years to come.

Investors are paying more and more attention to how certain strategies, asset classes or investments perform over shorter and shorter time frames, constantly looking for the best or worst performing sector/smart beta style/ETF/hedge fund/portfolio strategy during the latest two day or even two month sell-off or rebound. That’s not how you build a long-lasting portfolio. This article discusses some of the misconceptions about diversification.