The Long Good Buy: Why Long-Dated Munis Look Cheap
Jason Appleson, CFA, FRM,
Caroline Wenker
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August 19, 2025
Municipal bonds have underperformed U.S. Treasuries this year, particularly long-dated munis. Supply exceeds last year's pace while demand favors short-dated bonds, creating a steeper yield curve.
Five Factors Supporting Asian Credit Spreads
Yanru Chen,
Darren Ku,
Yi Ming Oh
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August 12, 2025
This blog examines five factors supporting the recent performance of Asian investment grade credit spreads and why that support should persist going forward.
Is There an EM Central Bank Gold Rush?
Carl Sacklen,
Giancarlo Perasso
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August 5, 2025
In the event of a sudden, sharp decline in gold prices, EM central bank reserve coverage and liquidity should still offer sufficient buffers against external risks.
First-Hand Perspective on China’s Domestic Pivot
Yanru Chen,
Shikeb Farooqui
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July 30, 2025
The findings from a trip to several cities in China, to ascertain the bottom-up realities affecting growth, fall into three categories.
The Rapid Fallout from Resumed Student Loan Repayments
Kaustub Samant,
John Di Paolo, CFA, FSA,
Marc Firestein,
Edwin Wilches, CFA
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July 10, 2025
Federal student loan payments resumed after a multi-year pause, reshaping the credit landscape for tens of millions of Americans and carrying broad implications for the securitized credit markets.
CLO ETFs and the Tariff-Induced Stress Test
Edwin Wilches, CFA,
Connor Byrnes,
Jordan Rosenhouse
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June 13, 2025
April’s stress test showed that the appeal of AAA CLO ETFs lies in their ability to provide income, stability, and liquidity.
The Case for High Yield vs. Equities
Daniel Niland, CFA,
Robert Tipp, CFA,
Guillermo Felices, PhD
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June 10, 2025
While a high level of macro-economic uncertainty remains, if history is any guide, high yield bonds may be a more reliable return generator than equities.
The ECB Signals Job Done
Katharine Neiss, PhD,
Matthew Nastasi, CFA
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June 5, 2025
With domestic inflationary pressures in line with its inflation goal, the takeaway from the June ECB meeting is that there is no need for further rate cuts from here.
A View from China on the U.S. Trade Competition
Shikeb Farooqui
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May 22, 2025
Amid a highly dynamic geopolitical situation, the following frames our view of the U.S./China relationship as it enters this new, critical phase.
Update on Europe’s Securitisation Revival—Where to from Here?
Taggart Davis
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April 24, 2025
This blog shares our key takeaways from the 2025 Eurofi High Level Seminar in Warsaw.
The Cascading Effects of Medicaid Cuts on Municipal Credits
Lisa Cole,
Steven Levy
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April 23, 2025
Material reductions to federal Medicaid funding are likely to trigger difficult state budget decisions, which could have considerable downstream effects on municipal bond issuers.
A Dovish, But Not Necessarily Accommodative, ECB
Katharine Neiss, PhD,
Guillermo Felices, PhD,
Ritush Dalmia, CFA
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April 17, 2025
The ECB cut by 25 bps during the April meeting. However, an important question mark remains as to whether trade uncertainty may tip the ECB into accommodative territory later into 2025.
10 Reasons to Still Favour EU Peripheral Debt
Katharine Neiss, PhD
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March 31, 2025
Explore 10 fundamental factors at play in support of European peripheral sovereign bonds.
The State of Securitization from SFVegas
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March 7, 2025
This blog shares our key takeaways about each asset class of securitized products based on the learnings made and the meetings had at SFVegas 2025.
ECB May Sense Neutral as Fiscal Finally Emerges
Katharine Neiss, PhD,
Matthew Nastasi, CFA
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March 6, 2025
The ECB’s March meeting happened against a backdrop of momentous changes on Europe’s fiscal front. While the ECB cut by 25 bps this month, we believe the bank may be largely done with cuts.
California Utilities: Too Big to Fail?
Sean McCarthy,
Vito Galluccio
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February 4, 2025
The size of the potential liability from the January 2025 wildfires in California underscores the risks facing municipal utilities and the considerations facing active managers.
As ECB Policy Gradually Diverges, Impatience May Loom
Katharine Neiss, PhD,
Guillermo Felices, PhD
|
January 30, 2025
The ECB expectedly cut rates during the January meeting and did not convey any urgency for the need to cut rates more aggressively in 2025.
Insights from Cutting Through Central Bank Narratives
Guillermo Felices, PhD,
Ritush Dalmia, CFA,
George Jiranek, CFA
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January 29, 2025
Our probabilistic analysis sheds light on how fluctuations in markets' expectations of central bank policy rates have evolved and provides a tool for contrasting fundamental views.
Bank of Japan Rate Hike to 17-year High Portends More
Seiji Maruyama, CMA,
Katharine Neiss, PhD,
Mariusz Banasiak, CFA
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January 24, 2025
The Bank of Japan raised its policy rate to 0.5%, the highest in 17 years, aiming for a balanced approach to avoid market volatility, yen weakening, and triggering sharp market repricing.
The Vulnerability—and Potential Value Creation—in UK Assets
Katharine Neiss, PhD,
Guillermo Felices, PhD,
Ritush Dalmia, CFA
|
January 23, 2025
Recent Gilt yield spikes highlight UK's fiscal vulnerability, driven by stagflationary risks and global shifts in investor sentiment.
Retiree Liability Immunization: An LDI Case Study
Tom McCartan, FIA, CFA,
Keegan Gorman, CFA
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January 15, 2025
Our case study focuses on the rationale, decision factors, and portfolio construction and management when immunizing a portion of a defined benefit pension plan's liabilities.
A Barometer to Gauge Credit Market Valuations
Guillermo Felices, PhD,
Kishlaya Pathak, CFA
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December 11, 2024
Through simple market barometers comparing credit spreads with a variety of macro, corporate fundamental, and technical drivers, we can better assess the credit market.
Not All AAA CLO ETFs are Created Equal
Edwin Wilches, CFA,
Connor Byrnes,
Jordan Rosenhouse
|
November 7, 2024
Actively managed AAA CLO ETFs provide access to the highest-rated CLO tranche but not all AAA CLOs are created equally, and actively managed ETFs are showing notable dispersion in positioning.
Assessing Inflation Through Five Commodity Price Themes
Guillermo Felices, PhD,
David Winans,
Elizabeth Gunning, CFA
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October 24, 2024
Explore recent developments in commodity prices through the lens of five themes.
Analysis of 4 Political Policy Areas on the U.S. Economy
Tom Porcelli,
Mehill Marku
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October 16, 2024
A scenario analysis on four key areas related to the 2024 U.S. Elections, trade & tariffs, fiscal policy, immigration & labor supply, and monetary policy, all with significant economic impacts.
The Case for Going Global, in Pictures
Robert Tipp, CFA,
Guillermo Felices, PhD,
George Jiranek, CFA
|
October 2, 2024
This blog post makes the case for hedged global fixed income in nine figures.
U.S. Bank Update Amid an Economic Turn
David Jiang
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August 21, 2024
More than one year after the banking panic of early 2023, we reflect on the sector's investment portfolios, liquidity, and profitability conditions.
Biofuel Producers: Pockets of Opportunity in Brazil
Taylor Chatlos,
David Shellhammer
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August 15, 2024
While a wide swath of the biofuel segment presents a compelling opportunity for investors, we view corn-based ethanol producers in Brazil as particularly attractive.
A Look Under the Hood of China's EV Sector
Yanru Chen
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July 2, 2024
The third post in our Great Power Competition (GPC) series takes a closer look at factors that make China’s electric vehicle (EV) sector one of the more formidable global players.
The Weaponization of Statecraft and its Investment Implications
Mehill Marku
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June 12, 2024
While the use of statecraft has been a prominent feature of all global orders, the frequency and potency of its deployment has never been higher than in the current geopolitical environment.
The Case for Rebalancing into Bonds, in Pictures
Robert Tipp, CFA,
Guillermo Felices, PhD,
George Jiranek, CFA
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May 21, 2024
In the current market environment, we see a compelling case for rebalancing into bonds vs. both stock and cash.
The U.S.-China Competition Through Four Lenses
Mehill Marku
|
May 15, 2024
Not all Great Power Competitions lead to military confrontations. Explore the U.S.-China relationship through four lenses and whether the current global order faces the risk of confrontation.
Cybersecurity: How it Affects ESG Impact and Credit Quality
Birgit Lundem Jakobsen
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September 26, 2023
With the right analysis, investors can gauge which firms apply basic, better, or best cybersecurity practices; such an assessment can protect clients' assets.
