Do Shifting US-China Geopolitics Create Investment Opportunities Elsewhere in Asia?

Yes, US-China geopolitical realities are already having an impact on trade and investment flows within Asia. China will remain an important destination for investor capital, but the shift in capital flows, alongside positive domestic structural developments in other parts of Asia, create investment opportunities beyond China that deserve a closer look. Trade and financial “decoupling” […]

November 2023

VantagePoint: Asia Opportunities Amid Shifting Geopolitics – Part II

The shifting geopolitical realities between the United States and China have already impacted trade and investment flows. In this two-part series of VantagePoint, we review this reality and consider investment implications alongside those of other key factors—such as domestic structural developments, macroeconomic conditions, and valuations. In Part I, we focused on opportunities in China specifically. […]

October 2023

VantagePoint: Asia Opportunities Amid Shifting Geopolitics – Part I

The shifting geopolitical realities between the United States and China have already impacted trade and investment flows. In this two-part series of VantagePoint, we review this reality and consider investment implications alongside those of other key factors—such as domestic structural developments, macroeconomic conditions, and valuations. In Part I, we focus on opportunities in China specifically, […]

October 2023

Should Taxable Investors Still Rely on Municipal Bonds to Boost After-Tax Returns?

Yes. Municipal (muni) bonds have recently outperformed taxable equivalents before taxes and the tax advantage of high-quality munis has grown as interest rates have gone up. We recommend a neutral allocation to high-quality munis in taxable portfolios. Beyond the high-quality space, muni closed-end funds (CEFs) have the potential to deliver compelling after-tax returns. The previous […]

October 2023

Key Central Bank Policy Rates Approach Cyclical Peak

Over the past two weeks, central banks in the United States, United Kingdom, euro area, and Japan have all held monetary policy meetings. The communications following these meetings retained a hawkish bias, suggesting further policy tightening may be necessary—except for the Bank of Japan (BOJ)—however, additional interest rate hikes will likely be much less frequent […]

September 2023

Six Things to Know About Co-investments

Let’s Get Smarter as Co-investing Gets Harder Investor interest in co-investing has grown in recent years, given the benefits (discussed in more detail below) for both general partners (GPs) and limited partners (LPs). The co-investment universe has grown rapidly, with Cambridge Associates (CA) estimating total private equity co-investment activity in 2022 to have been ~$50 […]

September 2023

Do Recent Upward Revisions to the United Kingdom's GDP Mean the Outlook Is Brighter?

No. Although GDP revisions showing that the UK economy recovered more quickly and strongly from the COVID-19 period than was initially thought are welcome, the country faces headwinds to growth in the coming quarters. We continue to recommend holding UK equities at benchmark weights. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) recently released revisions to historical […]

September 2023

Will Japanese Equities Continue to Outperform?

No, we do not think it is likely that Japanese equities can meaningfully outperform in the near term, given growing headwinds from the slowing global manufacturing cycle, possible monetary tightening, and potential Japanese yen (JPY) strength. Still, we do not think investors should be intentionally underweight, as Japan may continue to benefit from structural changes […]

August 2023