Sep 23, 2020

Thermal Coal Companies Removed from the S&P 500® ESG Index in Response to Market Demand

The fast-changing nature of the ESG landscape is no stranger to those within it. Competing definitions, variability in scoring methodologies, and a spectrum of individual investor objectives have made fertile ground for divergent approaches. However, among this slew of sustainable investment strategies, common threads have emerged. When the S&P 500 ESG Index was launched in…

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Sep 23, 2020

Profitability, Liquidity, and Investability: The Key Drivers of Long-Term Outperformance of S&P SmallCap 600® versus Russell 2000

The S&P 600TM has outperformed the Russell 2000 since its launch in 1994. From Dec. 31, 1994, to Aug. 30, 2020, the S&P SmallCap 600 had an annualized return of 11.77% (with an annualized volatility of 18.96%) versus the Russell 2000’s annualized return of 10.49% (with an annualized volatility of 19.70%). The historical performance divergence…

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Sep 22, 2020

A Practical Look at How Risk is Shifting in Sectors

How can the relationship between sectors and factors help investors identify market regime changes and inform allocations? S&P DJI’s Anu Ganti and Hamish Preston take a closer look at market trends through the lens of S&P Composite 1500® data.     Learn more: https://www.spglobal.com/spdji/en/research/article/the-sp-composite-1500-an-efficient-measure-of-the-us-equity-market/

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Sep 22, 2020

Why Reach for Yield When You Can Use a Ladder?

The current low interest rate environment is forcing many investors to reassess their risk tolerances. Typically, fixed income investors have three main options when trying to “reach” for yield: 1. Move down in credit quality (i.e., take on more credit risk); 2. Increase duration (i.e., take on more interest rate risk); or 3. Move to…

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Sep 21, 2020

Sectors and Electors

Markets expect elevated volatility surrounding the U.S. Presidential election, now just six weeks away. The VIX futures curve currently peaks in November, but as long ago as April a close observer could detect expectations of electoral volatility. Increased volatility may create an unusual opportunity for sector allocators. To understand why, we need to remember that…

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Sep 21, 2020

Examining Small-Cap Growth Strategies in Australia

Many market participants invest in small-cap equities seeking high-growth potential and portfolio diversification. In this blog, we will examine how growth factors performed in Australian small-cap equities by measuring the hypothetical top-quintile portfolio returns for three growth factors with long- and short-lookback periods, including 12- and 6-month price momentum, 3- and 1-year earnings growth, and…

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Sep 18, 2020

Holding Steady…

The market has recovered most of the losses from March’s uproar, with the S&P/TSX Composite Index down 4.8% in 2020 through Sept. 17. Volatility, though off its March peak, continues to be high but has been evenly distributed across all sectors of the market. Since all sectors experienced similar increases in volatility, it’s not surprising…

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Sep 17, 2020

What Would Emerging Markets Be Without China?

In the first decade of the 2000s, the U.S. and other developed countries fell behind emerging market equities by a wide margin, and they lagged China’s markets in particular: the S&P China BMI grew by 600% in the first decade of the new millennium. The 2010s saw a reversal of fortunes for broad-based emerging market…

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Sep 17, 2020

Comparing Defensive Factors During the Last 3 Bear Markets

In the factor world of investing, Low Volatility and Quality have been commonly referred to as defensive factors.  The following is an examination of the performance of the S&P 500 Quality Index and the S&P 500 Low Volatility Index compared to the S&P 500 during the last 3 equity bear markets.  The graphs and data…

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Sep 15, 2020

Why S&P 500 and DJIA Futures Could Be Useful for Asian Investors during the COVID-19 Selloff

The co-movement of returns that emerged from the interconnection of global markets has important consequences in terms of portfolio hedging and risk management. In our paper, Regional Relevancy of S&P 500® and Dow Jones Industrial Average Futures® in Asia, we highlighted three characteristics of S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA®) futures could potentially…

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