Beyond Bulls & Bears

In the Know: Is Crypto a Speculative Play, or Here to Stay?
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In the Know: Is Crypto a Speculative Play, or Here to Stay?

In the past few years, cryptocurrencies have certainly attracted speculators given their dramatic price moves, but is there a long-term case for crypto from a practical standpoint, and for more traditional investors? We posed these and other questions to Franklin Equity Group Research Analyst Anthony Hardy, who shares his thoughts.

Quick Thoughts: Cryptocurrency Fascination
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Quick Thoughts: Cryptocurrency Fascination

Our Chief Market Strategist Stephen Dover believes cryptocurrency (crypto) is evolving into its next cycle of innovation. As an integral foundation for an alternative financial and internet ecosystem, crypto’s disruptions, opportunities, risks, and long-term implications are worth watching.

K2 Advisors First-Quarter Hedge-Fund Strategy Outlook
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K2 Advisors First-Quarter Hedge-Fund Strategy Outlook

Our K2 Advisors team is optimistic about the opportunity set in the year ahead, and thinks that active management alpha will be key to success in 2021. Brooks Ritchey and Robert Christian provide the team’s first-quarter hedge-fund strategy outlook.

Quick Thoughts: Real Estate Disruptions Accelerate Active Opportunities
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Quick Thoughts: Real Estate Disruptions Accelerate Active Opportunities

Our Head of Equities, Stephen Dover, and Onay Payne, Managing Director at Clarion Partners, believe reshoring supply chains, evolving office space and housing needs, and changing consumption preferences mark COVID-19’s disruptions and acceleration of trends. Commercial real estate can offer diversification, durable income, and leases indexed to inflation, providing opportunities for investors.

Short-Term Uncertainties as COVID-19 Cases Spike
Multi-Asset

Short-Term Uncertainties as COVID-19 Cases Spike

As regional lockdowns loom in light of a renewed spike in coronavirus cases, the near-term outlook may be a bit bumpy, says Gene Podkaminer, Head of Research at Franklin Templeton Investment Solutions. He explores the potential market implications of renewed lockdowns and comments on how vaccine availability might affect a future economic recovery.

US 2020 Election Investment Pulse: Pandemic Reshaping Real Estate
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US 2020 Election Investment Pulse: Pandemic Reshaping Real Estate

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted real estate in many ways, but the question for investors in the space is whether the changes it has instigated will be longer-lasting ones. Our Head of Equities Stephen Dover and David Gilbert, CEO and Chief Investment Officer of Clarion Partners, discuss real estate trends today and which areas look more promising than others.

US 2020 Election Investment Pulse: Time for Strategy Rotation
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US 2020 Election Investment Pulse: Time for Strategy Rotation

Global equity markets rallied on Monday after major networks declared Joe Biden the winner of the US presidential election, and early analysis of a COVID-19 vaccine from a large US drugmaker showed promising results. Our Head of Equities Stephen Dover joined Brooks Ritchey of K2 Advisors to discuss what these two events could mean for certain commodity, currency, equity and fixed income markets, particularly in the United States and emerging markets. They also take a look at why “rotation” is the word of the week for many of K2’s hedge strategies.

Water Disruption: Investment Risk from Multiple Angles
Perspectives

Water Disruption: Investment Risk from Multiple Angles

Water itself isn’t just an economic policy issue and risk arising from population growth and climate change. Water is impacting the day-to-day operations of investee companies and how they are thinking through their own business models and business risk.

K2 Advisors Fourth Quarter Hedge-Fund Strategy Outlook
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K2 Advisors Fourth Quarter Hedge-Fund Strategy Outlook

Given elements of uncertainty tied to COVID-19, geopolitics and policy decisions to come in the United States and across the globe, our K2 Advisors team believes the current environment may favour nimble, shorter-term strategies. Brooks Ritchey and Robert Christian provide the team’s fourth quarter hedge-fund strategy outlook.

K2 Advisors Third Quarter Hedge-Fund Strategy Outlook
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K2 Advisors Third Quarter Hedge-Fund Strategy Outlook

Pricing dislocations and adjustments between companies, industries, regions and asset classes due to the impact of COVID-19 offer opportunities for select hedged strategies, according to K2 Advisors. Brooks Ritchey and Robert Christian provide the team’s third quarter hedge-fund strategy outlook.

Disease and Debt Now: Dispersion Later?
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Disease and Debt Now: Dispersion Later?

Deficits are rising across the developed world as governments aggressively loosen their purse strings in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. But what are the ramifications of all this debt? Our K2 Advisors team weighs in on the longer-term unintended consequences for governments that maintain massively leveraged balance sheets for an extended period.