Dan Fuss, the Loomis Sayles bond guru, has been working in fixed income for decades. He has developed a set of four “P’s” with central bank behavior for looking at the macro fixed income environment and his read is suggesting that caution should be applied to any forecast that believes bonds are safe.
Many of the P factors are longer-term and associated with shocks, so it may not be trade worthy, but for investors who are looking at longer-term asset allocation, this type of checklist is valuable. We have made our own assessment and believe the tilt is away from the credit sector and should be focused on global diversification or strategies that can perform better if there is a global economic shock.
After hundreds of discussions with hedge fund managers, I am still surprised that there is a fear of revealing investment processes under the assumption that someone will steal their ideas and intellectual capital. There are few investment styles that are truly unique and special. What is special is still strategy execution – the practical process of delivering returns. Skill is with the decision-making execution of information and strategy.
All hedge funds are not created equal as the return box chart shows for the post Financial Crisis period. There is a significant amount of dispersion across hedge fund styles. Over the period 2009-2018, the difference between the best and worst hedge fund category is almost 7 percent after we account for global equities and bonds.
The attraction to private equity and other less liquid alternatives is clear from the Guide to Alternatives by JP Morgan Asset Management. The return profile is much higher for private equity and debt funds than more liquid alternatives and global bonds; however, the dispersion in returns is multiples higher than what can be expected from other public categories.
