The Alchemist’s Paradox, Central Bank Sovereignty, and the Fate of Crypto
“It is difficult not to marvel at the imagination which was implicit in this gargantuan insanity. If there must be madness something may be said for having it on a…
How Do Cryptocurrencies Correlate with Traditional Asset Classes?
For more on the crypto and blockchain phenomena, read Valuation of Cryptoassets: A Guide for Investment Professionals by Urav Soni and Rhodri Preece, CFA, from CFA Institute Research and Policy Center. The crypto…
How Goals-Based Portfolio Theory Came to Be
The following is excerpted from Goals-Based Portfolio Theory by Franklin J. Parker, CFA, published this year by Wiley. “I’ve heard people compare knowledge of a topic to a tree. If…
Conservatism: De-Risking the Profitability Factor
Profitability metrics are often the main focus in the search for high-quality stocks. But Profitability is not a defensive factor and may expose investors to a company’s aggressive profit-chasing, among…
Bonds and Fixed Income: Where’s the Hedge?
It is no secret that 2022 has been a rough year for pretty much all asset classes across the board. While US equities have fallen more than 20%, the average…
Asset Owners “COP” In on Climate Change
The UN Framework on Climate Change (UNFCC) is set to convene the 27th annual Conference of the Parties, commonly known as COP27, in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, next week. The goal…
Sector and Factor Performance in Wartime
Introduction Before 2020, the threat of a global pandemic shutting down the world economy was not a top-of-mind concern for most investors. Pandemics were nothing new, of course, but no…
Valuing Digital Assets with TradFi Tools: Three Methods
Introduction Digital assets form a new and distinct asset class that despite considerable volatility is rapidly maturing. Bitcoin, the first and largest cryptoasset, laid the foundation for enormous innovation across…
Tricks of the Private Equity Trade, Part 2: Leverage
The essence of maximizing the internal rate of return (IRR) lies in the total amount of leverage contracted to finance a transaction. The less equity a buyout firm has to…
Strong or Volcker? The Fed and Global Financial Stability
Mark J. Higgins, CFA, CFP, and Raphael Palone, CFA, CFP, will be presenting at the Planejar Annual Conference in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on 24 October 2022. Their program compares the…
