IASG, Author at IASG

By Kathryn M. Kaminski, Ph.D. Senior Investment Analyst,RPM Risk & Portfolio Management  DisclaimerWhile an investment in managed futures can help enhance returns and reduce risk, it can also do just the opposite and, in fact, result in further losses in a portfolio. In addition, studies conducted on managed futures as a whole may not be […]

The following is a guest post from Spring Valley Asset Management: Disclaimer: While investment in managed futures can help enhance returns and reduce risk, it can also do the opposite and result in further losses in a portfolio. In addition, studies conducted on managed futures as a whole may not be indicative of the performance […]

In February 2018, markets looked pretty dire for many option writers. The VIX had spiked 250% in less than a week and options sold a few days before were selling for many multiples of their original value. The biggest firm in the space, LJM Partners, went under and some of the best names faltered. Tianyou […]

While only time will tell if the potential impeachment of President Donald Trump is more sideshow than substance, the fallout from the impeachment inquiry and any subsequent hearings will likely pale in comparison to the potential ill effects of a destabilizing escalation in the trade war with China, an unanticipated surge in U.S. inflation data (which would, in turn, force the Federal Reserve to tighten rates in an aggressive fashion) or a continuation of the profligate spending policies of a spendthrift Congress. Ultimately, markets either rise or fall based upon the underlying health of the economy – not the political drama being staged in some Congressional hearing on Capitol Hill – and it is likely that the economic policies pursued by the Trump Administration (e.g., tax cuts, jobs growth, fair trade, rising corporate earnings, deregulation, etc.) have made the U.S. economy – and the U.S. stock market – more resilient to all manner of near-term shocks . . . even political ones.

Disclaimer: While an investment in managed futures can help enhance returns and reduce risk, it can also do just the opposite and in fact result in further losses in a portfolio. In addition, studies conducted of managed futures as a whole may not be indicative of the performance of any individual CTA. The results of […]

There’s something about being quoted in the Wall Street Journal or making it onto Bloomberg TV that often leads to terribly inaccurate judgement calls (at least in the short-term). A classic example of this is Ray Dalio’s famous interview from Davos in early 2018, where he declared that “If you’re holding cash, you’re going to feel pretty stupid” just before the market cratered -12% and potentially may have begun a topping process for the entire bull market run from 2009.

Disclosure documents include performance summaries for managed futures investments. Find out how to decipher the different pieces of information these summaries provide. Upon receiving a Commodity Trading Advisor (CTA) disclosure document, the first thing investors usually do is turn to the performance table found in the Past Performance section of the document. This is where […]

Last night was a great chance to opportunistically be long of risk, short the long end of the curve.  We got some incrementally positive news on the China front on the Europe open and, risk pushed higher, and steepeners were put out.  Bears were sent scrambling to wait for the grownups to come back from vacation.

“What just happened?” is becoming an all too common phrase for market watchers over the past few weeks.  Whether it be the Fed Chairman giving a talk, interest rate behavior, or a short tweet from the President, markets have been responding aggressively.  Over long periods of time all of these things could often be put on the category of “noise” but in the meantime anyone watching their portfolio can get an ulcer.