March 1, 2021—Some of our advisors and clients have asked whether the Investment Committee (IC) might make a tactical allocation to emerging markets U.S. dollar (EM USD) bonds. No doubt these questions are motivated by the fact that EM USD bonds offer higher yields than U.S. investment-grade bonds and involve return streams that are only partly correlated to those of other asset classes.
February 17, 2021—Bitcoin bulls gained another dose of credibility with the recent announcement that Tesla had bought $1.5 billion worth of bitcoin and would start accepting payments for its products in bitcoin.1 Just a few days later, BNY Mellon announced it would hold, transfer, and issue cryptocurrencies on behalf of asset management clients.
February 12, 2021—What a difference a few weeks can make. In mid-January after announcing his stimulus plan, there seemed to be a 50/50 chance of President Biden seeking bipartisanship in getting 10 Republican Senators on board, or the (allegedly) more challenging route of budget reconciliation, which only requires 50 votes but puts limits on the actions that can be taken.
