Pension Risk Transfers (PRTs), including the increasingly popular partial annuity purchase, are a set of tools used frequently by US plan sponsors to de-risk their pension plans. These transactions are intended to lower the risk and cost of the plan by shrinking its size. However, in many cases, they may achieve the opposite result. Specifically, […]
March 2022
Thoughtfully, if at all. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine sent shockwaves across the world, creating a tragic humanitarian and geopolitical crisis, and introducing new uncertainty to the global economy and financial markets. The lynchpin to understanding how assets may perform in the coming days and weeks is, of course, knowing the duration of the war and […]
March 2022
Shannon MacArthur created her family’s wealth as a general partner (GP) of a venture capital (VC) firm. As she neared the end of her career, she started thinking about a long-term plan for her family’s wealth. CLIENT BRIEF Client: The MacArthur family Source of wealth: General partner at a venture capital firm Situation: Seeking an […]
March 2022
No. Global equities tend to sell off following major geopolitical events, but such declines have historically been mild and short-lived, far below the 20% drawdown threshold that is typically considered a bear market. We view this historical tendency as a useful, but imperfect, benchmark in thinking about the impact of the current Russia-Ukraine crisis on […]
February 2022
No. The inflation attributed to green initiatives (known as “greenflation”) is part of the current inflation narrative, but we doubt concerns related to it will derail the global energy transition. Net zero pledges and related policy frameworks have been rolled out in nearly 200 countries, underpinning a transition already underway due to climate change and […]
February 2022
This year may prove to be pivotal in the transition from fossil fuels to renewables. Policy makers, businesses, and investors are accelerating commitments to bring greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to net zero by 2050. The aim is consistent with the 2015 Paris Agreement to “limit global warming to well below 2°C, preferably to 1.5°C, compared […]
February 2022
No, we don’t think so. While bitcoin and gold share some qualities, these two assets are different and should not be viewed as interchangeable in investment portfolios. Bitcoin is much more volatile than gold and has recently been trading more like a pro-risk asset, suffering significant drawdowns during periods of market turmoil. Bitcoin is often […]
February 2022
In the first six months of 2021, according to Cambridge Associates indexes, private equity and venture capital in the developed markets outperformed those in emerging markets. The Cambridge Associates LLC Developed Markets ex US Private Equity and Venture Capital (PE/VC) Index returned 18.7% in the first half of 2021, in USD terms, with significantly better […]
January 2022