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Tag Archives: COVID-19

Feb 1, 2022

Commodities on the Front Foot in January

The strong inflation tailwind that supported commodities in 2021 has bled into 2022, as the S&P GSCI started the year on the front foot, up 11.6% in January. In contrast, the S&P 500® fell 5.2% over the same period. Inflation has traditionally helped commodity markets. Commodities have also historically been a good hedge against inflation….

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Jan 5, 2022

Commodities Crushed It in 2021

The market standard commodities benchmark, the S&P GSCI, crushed it in 2021, rising 40.35% and outpacing other similar commodity indices and asset classes, as high and rising inflation provided a great backdrop for this inflation-sensitive asset class. Commodities finished strong in December, rising 7.59% over the month as energy bounced back and Omicron COVID-19 variant…

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Dec 2, 2021

Alpha, Omicron: Why?

Over the past week, global financial markets have been roiled by the discovery of the “Omicron” COVID-19 mutation. It’s far too soon to know how much this new variant will impact the world’s economy—but its discovery suggests an interesting thought experiment in, of all things, corporate governance. The experiment is this: suppose Omicron turns out…

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Dec 1, 2021

Energy Markets Tumble in November

The S&P GSCI, the broad commodities benchmark, declined 10.8% over the month. The poor performance was driven almost exclusively by a major correction in energy prices, as the discovery of the Omicron COVID-19 variant cast a lengthening shadow over demand growth, added further complications to global supply chains, and dampened economic growth forecasts. The release…

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May 18, 2021

Unpacking SPIVA Europe: Did Volatility Provide Opportunity?

How did active managers respond to record volatility and soaring spreads in 2020 as the pandemic brought Europe to a halt? Tim Edwards and Andrew Innes of S&P DJI join Rebecca Chesworth of State Street Global Advisors and Pio Benetti of Kairos Partners SGR to explore the latest results from SPIVA Europe and the active…

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May 3, 2021

Commodities Burst Higher in April

Several commodities made new all-time highs, as the global economy reflated, consumer confidence hit pre-pandemic highs, and housing prices in the U.S. jumped the most in 15 years. The S&P GSCI continued to perform well, rising 8.2% for the month to start the second quarter, following a strong 13.5% in the first quarter. Most commodities…

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Mar 2, 2021

How to Value Thematic Strategies

During the pandemic, we’ve seen an evolution of behavioral changes fuel transcendent trends across our economy that may create new future growth opportunities. This has spurred investor interest in thematic ETFs that seek to provide exposure to firms at the forefront of innovation. In 2020, more than $40 billion flowed into ETFs focused on Future…

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Feb 19, 2021

Low Turnover in the S&P 500 Low Volatility Index Reflects Broader Market Dynamics

It’s been almost a year since the COVID-19 pandemic hit the U.S., but despite the disruption it brought to daily life, the U.S. equity market has performed remarkably well—rallying powerfully after a sharp decline in March 2020. Through Feb. 18, 2021, the S&P 500® was up 24% since the end of 2019. In the same…

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Jan 27, 2021

The Case for Equal Weight Indexing

2020 witnessed outperformance from some of the largest S&P 500® companies as investors expected these firms to be better placed to navigate the COVID-19 environment. Exhibit 1 shows that this outperformance led to the largest names accounting for an unusually high proportion of the U.S. large-cap equity benchmark, and therefore having a bigger impact on…

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Jan 19, 2021

Manage Drawdown and Recovery with Dynamic Allocation

In October 2019, S&P Dow Jones Indices launched the S&P ESG Global Macro Index, an ESG-themed, regionally diversified, volatility-managed, multi-asset index. As discussed in my previous blog, the index has generated stable absolute returns of 5.44% annually, a volatility of 4.89%, and downside protection during extreme market scenarios, based on back-tested performance from Aug. 31,…

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