We all know that China has risen to the 2nd largest economy in the world; however how many China A-Share stocks do you own? The answer may surprise you. The answer is likely none. Even if you own an international ETF or mutual fund, the fact is that the main benchmark index MSCI doesn't include any China A-Share stocks from the Shanghai or Shenzhen exchanges, the 3rd and 8th largest in the world.
On Thursday, I had the pleasure of returning to the New York Stock Exchange for the second time in a week. Last Tuesday was for opening bell and this time it was closing bell with the Aussies ringing the bell for Australia Day. Thanks to Goldman Sachs Asset Management (GSAM) for the invite and their insights on their market outlook for 2018. Their tag line for this year is "Pro-growth, Pro-equity, Pro-reality." They share our view that global growth will continue in 2018 and given the low interest rate environment that means investors should favor stocks over bonds.
Back in 2013, China's President Xi Jinping announced the One Belt One Road (OBOR) initiative to modernize infrastructure along the ancient Silk Road trading routes. This policy is poised to reshaped the 21st century economy. The project is a potential win win for China and its surrounding neighbors. For China, it seeks to create trade and investment opportunity in infrastructure and construction providing China with a new channel to broaden its export market. For its neighbors, they will benefit from modernized roads and power plants which will help their economies flourish and grow. This rising tide should lift all boats!
On Monday, I had the pleasure of returning to Reuters TV to have a quick conversation with anchor Fred Katayama (@Freddiethekat). We discusses outlook for the market (bullish!), earnings (pay attention to guidance on inflation and growth) and how the market hasn't baked in the corporate tax cuts.
While you may not yet be ready for a medical exam by Dr. Robot, odds are that some of the packages you're receiving this holiday season will be prepped by a robot. Watch this incredible video.
Last August, Chris visited the Reuters TV set. Yesterday, I had the pleasure of dropping in at Reuters TV in Times Square to talk markets with anchor Fred Katayama. We talk bank earnings, S&P 500 earnings, and Costco.
Last Thursday I had the pleasure of visiting Reuters TV in Times Square to talk markets with anchor Fred Katayama.
As we near a close to 2016, it is time to look forward to 2017. We have done this in 2014, 2015, and 2016 so it is becoming a tradition to see which strategists did well and which missed the mark. What do the experts think will happen in 2017 and should we even care?
Perhaps you are familiar with Philip Telock's landmark UC Berkeley study that looked at 82,000 predictions over 25 years by 300 leading economists. It turned out that their so called expert views were no better than random guesses, and worse, the more famous, the less accurate the prediction.
Last year, the strategists predicted a bull market for 2016 and they almost hit the number right on the mark. Their average forecast was for a 7.2% gain in the S&P 500 to 2215. They should get a round of applause as the S&P finished at 2239. Well done. Deutsche Bank's David Bianco gets the highest grade with a forecast of 2250, only missing by 11 points. Barclays' Jonathan Glionna should also be given a trophy as he was within 2% for the past couple of years. Let's look at the numbers.
Earlier this month, I was invited to make an appearance on CNBC's "The Closing Bell" to discuss the topic "Is this the end of a stock picker's market?" I enjoyed the lively debate with Ross Gerber and Evan Newmark. In case you missed it, click the video link below. Since one can only say so much in a 4 minute segment, I'd like to share some additional thoughts with our loyal Runnymede readers.
Many articles have been written about the shift from active to passive investing. The thesis is simple. The majority of active mutual fund managers underperform their index and also charge a higher fee. This is a double whammy for an investor's bottom line. Therefore, the solution seems simple: move your money into low cost index funds and that should lead to higher returns over the long term. Unfortunately, it's not that easy. Let's take a look at the potential pitfalls of passive investing.
Transcript:
The Runnymede blog has become one of the most visited sites for annuity reviews with over 100k views. Since 2013, I’ve been writing independent annuity reviews to help buyers like you understand the complexities of annuities and truly understand what the products can deliver. Today I’m going to talk about the 3 biggest fixed index annuity myths.
