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Phillip Brzenk

Managing Director, Global Head of Multi-Asset Indices, S&P Dow Jones Indices

Phillip Brzenk is Global Head of Multi-Asset Indices at S&P Dow Jones Indices (S&P DJI). His team is responsible for the product management of multi-asset, volatility and options indices, which cover a variety of outcome-oriented index solutions including managed volatility, asset allocation, retirement-focused, options strategies and liquid alternatives.
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Feb 2, 2021

Why Clean Energy Now

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) forecasts that power generation coming from renewable sources, such as wind, solar, hydro, and geothermal, should provide the majority of the world’s energy needs by 2050.1 The use of renewable energy has been increasing significantly over the last decade, however its current level of consumption still lags those of…

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Oct 9, 2019

Factor Analysis of U.S. Small-Cap Benchmarks

We recently published the 10-year anniversary edition of the paper “A Tale of Two Small-Cap Benchmarks,” which gives insight into why the S&P SmallCap 600® outperformed the Russell 2000, historically.[1] Our latest paper also showed that, in the period from Dec. 31, 2002, to Dec. 31, 2018, profitable companies typically outperformed unprofitable companies in the…

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Aug 6, 2019

The Case for Positive Earnings Criteria in International Small-Cap Benchmarks

We recently published a research paper, “Building Better International Small-Cap Benchmarks,” offering a comprehensive look at the recently launched S&P Global SmallCap Select Index Series. These indices are designed to measure the performance of small-cap companies with positive earnings. Why incorporate positive earnings criteria into small-cap benchmarks? The initial foundation stems from two prior studies[1],[2];…

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Feb 25, 2019

Combining Value and Growth in a Pure Style Way

When it comes to style investing, pure style indices that select and weight securities based on their style scores tend to be less correlated with each other, have higher return spreads, and higher betas to the benchmark than the traditional market-cap-weighted style indices that have overlapping securities. Additionally, when one style is favored over the…

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Jan 9, 2019

Dividend Growth Strategies and Downside Protection

2018 ended on a sour note for the S&P 500®, as the index declined by more than 9% in December alone. The drop-off resulted in the first negative calendar year return (-4.38%) for the S&P 500 (TR) since the financial crisis (2008). Meanwhile, the S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats®, which is designed to measure the performance…

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Oct 8, 2018

SPIVA® Latin America Mid-Year 2018 Results

Last week, the SPIVA Latin America Mid-Year 2018 Scorecard was released. The scorecard tracks the performance of active mutual funds in Brazil, Chile, and Mexico through the end of June 2018. Exhibit 1 shows how managers fared against their respective category benchmarks for one-, three-, and five-year lookback periods. In the short- and long-term periods,…

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Aug 22, 2018

Equal-Weight Versus Equal-Risk-Contribution Strategies – Performance Comparison

As we highlighted in a prior blog post, the risk decomposition of a multi-asset equal-weight portfolio showed that equities and commodities were the main contributors to total portfolio volatility. We then went on to explore what the weights would have been if we were to form an equal-risk-contribution portfolio consisting of the same assets. In…

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Aug 20, 2018

Equal-Weighting Versus Equal-Risk-Weighting Strategies

In a prior post, we reviewed the asset class risk contributions of a two-asset portfolio with varying weights. For an equal-weighted portfolio consisting of equities and bonds, we observed that nearly all contribution to total portfolio risk came from equities. To achieve equal risk contribution, the nominal weights in the portfolio would need to be…

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Aug 15, 2018

Risk Contributions of Equity/Bond Asset Allocation Portfolios

In a prior post, we reviewed the risk and returns of portfolios with different equity and fixed income combinations. We saw that while equities outperformed fixed income during the period studied, fixed income had a higher risk-adjusted return ratio (annualized return divided by annualized risk). Due to the low return correlation between the two asset…

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Aug 13, 2018

Asset Class Correlations Affect Portfolio Volatility and Return

In recent years, the term “risk parity” has become a catch-all phrase to describe strategies that attempt to allocate based on risk. The launch of the S&P Risk Parity Indices last week is a testament to the proliferation and the popularity of the style. As we noted in a prior blog, there is a lack…

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