April 22, 2020—Highlights:We have reduced our exposure to real estate investment trusts (REITs) from an overweight to a neutral allocation.Risk assets like REITs and equities have staged a strong rally since March 23, but we expect a slow economic recovery, the risks around which do not appear to be properly appreciated by investors.We took the opportunity to sell REITs into relative strength to reduce overall risk in client portfolios.
April 21, 2020—Financial markets remain in turmoil, but the focus has shifted from the equity market to the oil market. This week, oil prices fell into negative territory, a phenomenon that would seem to make about as much intuitive sense as negative interest rates. Here we discuss what is happening and offer some perspective on the path forward for energy prices.What happened?On Monday, April 20, the May contract for West Texas Intermediate crude, the U.S.
April 15, 2020—The COVID-19 epidemic and ensuing mitigation measures are unprecedented and will produce jarring impacts on the U.S. and world economies. The stay-at-home measures employed in the U.S. and elsewhere include the forced closure of vast swaths of the economy on both the goods and services sides. The first and most dramatic signs of the damage have been in new claims for unemployment insurance, which show 16.
