Top 20 Whitepapers of January 2019
The Most Popular and Trending Papers of January 2019
Below you'll find Savvy Investor's top 20 papers for the month of January. Baillie Gifford starts the list off with a unique critique of the investment management industry. Or, if factor decompositions are what you're after, check out both Axioma's examination of whether potentially crowded factors explain hedge fund returns and the recent Financial Analysts Journal paper entitled 'Buffet's Alpha,' that screens Berkshire Hathaway's historical performance for certain factor exposures.
Start 2019 off on the right foot, and check out these papers, as well as others on ESG trends, dividend yields, the Chinese economy, and several other topics of interest.
The Fund Management Industry: Riding the Gravy Train (Baillie Gifford, Jan 2019)
Tom Coutts of Baillie Gifford presents a fund manager's perspective on the investment management industry itself, scrutinising its culture, governance, and motivations, while advocating for lower fees, less portfolio turnover, engagement with portfolio companies, and a client-first stance.
Crowded Trades Don’t Explain Managers’ Recent Pain (Axioma)
Axioma examines the speculative proposition that recent poor hedge fund returns are due to the unwinding of certain overcrowded risk-factor positions.
Bond Compass: analysing $10 trillion of bond flows (Review of Q4 2018, SPDR ETFs)
For compliance reasons, this paper is only accessible in certain geographies
This global, quarterly report contains indicators deriving from a data set representing USD 10 trillion in assets. This data shows bond flows and holdings from Q4 2018, providing insight into institutional appetite for fixed income assets.
Artificial Intelligence: Real opportunity (Franklin Templeton, 2019)
For compliance reasons, this paper is only accessible in the EMEA region
Computing power is a commodity. That’s why we believe companies with proprietary datasets or privileged access to differentiated datasets, which they can learn from, should be the winners in the long-run.
A Fundamental Look at S&P 500® Dividend Aristocrats® (S&P Dow Jones, 2019)
This paper highlights the importance of dividend yield as a component of total return, then introduces the S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats index.
China: Innovation superpower (Wellington, 2019)
Wellington Management provides some of the sector-level investment implications of recent technological and scientific advancements in China.
Buffett's Alpha (Financial Analysts Journal, 2018)
Are Warren Buffett’s extraordinary investment returns more attributable to skill or luck? This study breaks down why Berkshire Hathaway has significantly outperformed the stock market and concludes that Buffett’s success appears not to be luck but it largely explained by his focus on low-volatility, high-quality, and cheap stocks, amplified by uniquely cheap access to leverage.
Populism will change corporate purpose for good (Fidelity Intl blog, 2019)
For compliance reasons, this paper is only accessible in the UK & Europe
Over the next decade, populist movements may force companies to move from a shareholder value maximization model to a different, more sustainable approach.
2019 ESG Trends to Watch (MSCI)
Actions taken today could make the difference tomorrow for several of the ESG trends that MSCI illuminates for 2019.
Private Assets: The Tradeoff Between Liquidity and Performance (PGIM Institutional Advisory & Solutions, 2019)
For compliance reasons, this paper is only accessible in the United States
How can investors measure the tradeoff between performance and liquidity in order to decipher their optimal mix of public and private assets?
Video: Emerging markets debt likely to hold ground, despite volatility (Capital Group, Jan 2019)
For compliance reasons, this paper is only accessible in the UK & Europe
Bond markets in developing economies have been challenged of late, but investors shouldn’t fear widespread, systemic risk, says portfolio manager Rob Neithart. He offers reasons for the recent volatility and names areas of opportunity.
Is Volatility a Friend or a Foe? (Intech, Jan 2019)
For compliance reasons, this paper is only accessible in certain geographies
Volatility is usually seen as something bad, a foe to long-term performance; but the insights it provides may actually make it more of a friend that can be used to help strengthen portfolio resilience.
Risk & Reward Q4 2018: a factor-based commodity strategy (Invesco)
For compliance reasons, this paper is only accessible in certain geographies
Invesco's 39-page Risk & Reward magazine contains articles on implementing a multi-factor commodity strategy, tail risk management, ESG integration, and other topics.
IFRS and Solvency II: A chess game in insurers' investment strategy (HSBC GAM)
For compliance reasons, this paper is only accessible in certain geographies
This paper provides a high-level analysis of the accounting options available to insurers under IFRS and Solvency II, as well as the impact that these standards may have on the investment strategies of insurers.
Top 10 Questions for Plan Sponsors: Outsourcing a Pension Plan (Goldman Sachs AM, 2018)
For compliance reasons, this paper is only accessible in the United States
This recent paper by Goldman Sachs Asset Management succinctly shares 10 good questions U.S. plan sponsors should ask before outsourcing a pension plan.
Alternative Risk Premia: Crisis or Opportunity? (Research Affiliates, 2018)
The year 2018 has been a difficult one for the broad alternative risk premia market. Not only have these strategies lagged conventional 60/40 investing, their year-to-date negative performance has been widespread within the ARP market.
China's Provincial Economies: Growing Together or Pulling Apart? (Moody's, Jan 2019)
Moody's looks at differences in economic output and productivity between China's inland provinces and its coastal peers, looking at patterns of growth and demographic changes within all 31 administrative divisions.
What is CDC and how might it work in the UK? (PPI, 2018)
For compliance reasons, this paper is only accessible in the United Kingdom
This report explores UK charges for defined contribution pension schemes against those in the US, Australia, the Netherlands and Sweden.
Assessing Risk Through ESG Exposures (AQR Capital Management, 2017)
The authors discuss implications (risk and return-related) of integrating ESG considerations into an investment strategy.
