Benedek Vörös
Director, Index Investment Strategy, S&P Dow Jones Indices
Looking for Income – The Case for Dividends
For decades, traditional wisdom held that U.S. investors seeking stable income should turn to bonds. However, after more than a third of a century of declining yields, the current market environment may require a less traditional approach. Until recently, U.S. Treasuries have been a vehicle of choice for income-seeking investors: they provide a fixed stream…
Results from the SPIVA India Year-End 2021 Scorecard
The S&P Indices Versus Active (SPIVA®) Scorecard,1 published semiannually, measures the performance of actively managed funds against their corresponding benchmarks. The latest SPIVA India report provides a number of interesting insights about the performance of active versus passive across active fund categories. 1. Long-Term Outperformance of Active Funds Was Difficult Indian bond funds had a…
No Easy Answer: Sector and Factor Responses to U.S. Rate Hikes
Although higher rates are generally seen as negative for risk assets, the initial stages of a monetary tightening cycle have not been disastrous for the U.S. stock market historically. However, while the overall market may muddle through just fine, the same may not be true for the different sectors and factors that compose a broad…
The S&P 500 in the Years of Rate Hikes
Overnight rates in the U.S. are one of two major levers that the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) can pull to change the course of inflation and employment, the other being quantitative easing. At present, the market expects the Fed to move both levers in the near future: hiking rates and starting to wind down…
A Stellar 2021 for Indian Equities
Indian equities had a stellar 2021—the S&P BSE SENSEX rose over 23%, outpacing most major emerging markets, though slightly lagging the S&P 500®, which gained 29%. Information Technology and Financials were the top contributors, adding 9% and 6%, respectively, to the performance of the Indian bellwether. Smaller Indian companies did even better than blue chips;…
The Fed Is Doing What It Can – Will Emerging Markets Suffer What They Must?
“The dollar is our currency, but it’s your problem.” Former U.S. Treasury Secretary John Connally (Feb. 27, 1917 – June 15, 1993) When John Connally uttered the famous words above, exactly 50 years ago today…