In order to provide attractive diversification for stocks, an investment doesn’t only need to have low correlation, but it must deliver attractive returns (on average) during those “Crisis Alpha” months…and do so with some consistency.
MANAGED FUTURES: UNDERSTANDING A MISUNDERSTOOD DIVERSIFICATION TOOL – (Alpha Architect)
We did some research to help investors identify what really belongs in their alternatives allocation. As a result, we’re offering a clear definition of true diversifiers:
CLARIFYING TRUE DIVERSIFICATION – (Longboard)
Further, if your diversifiers/alternatives are your best performers, then chances are things aren’t going well in the rest of the world. Alternatives hopefully offer diversification from both equities and fixed income.
Alternative Context – (Alpha Baskets)
The top ranked fund for one investor might be totally different than the top ranked for another. In an effort to identify what the top ranked might look like for different wants and needs, we created eight different categories of rankings to help you navigate to the best programs for you…
Managed Futures Rankings 2016 – (RCM’s Attain Alternatives Blog)
We wanted a smaller, less-dynamic financial sector that took fewer risks, and it looks like we’re getting it. But there’s a price for that and we should be asking if it’s worth it.
Maybe We Clamped Down Too Hard on Finance – (Bloomberg View)
Exxon Mobil Corp., Royal Dutch Shell PLC, BP PLC and Chevron Corp. hold a combined net debt of $184 billion—more than double their debt levels in 2014
Big Oil Companies Binge on Debt – (Wall Street Journal)
U.S.-listed funds also hit a new high last month, with assets of $2.367 trillion, up from $2.256 trillion the previous month, according to ETFGI, a research and consultancy firm.
ETF Assets Hit Yet Another Record – (Barrons)
The plaintiff is seeking $150 million on behalf of a proposed class for losses incurred due to the alleged breaches of fiduciary duty under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974.
Morgan Stanley hit with $150 million 401(k) lawsuit for self-dealing and excessive fees – (Investment News)
The past 30 days have been the least volatile of any 30-day period in more than two decades.
It’s Getting Scarily Quiet in the Stock Market – (Wall Street Journal)
the Microsoft Corp. co-founder’s net worth is equal to 0.5 percent of U.S. GDP.
Bill Gates’s Net Worth Hits $90 Billion: Chart – (Bloomberg)
The truth is, as much as we sometimes would like it to, the ETF structure just doesn’t jive with the structure of commodity markets.
What Everyone is Missing when they Play the Crude Market – (RCM’s Attain Alternatives Blog)
Politics and Policy:
At least 85 of 154 people from private interests who met or had phone conversations scheduled with Clinton while she led the State Department donated to her family charity or pledged commitments to its international programs, according to a review of State Department.
MANY DONORS TO CLINTON FOUNDATION MET WITH HER AT STATE – (AP)
Of 28 private universities with endowments valued at more than $2 billion, just 11 reported giving any unrestricted money—cash with no strings attached—to their municipality last year, according to a Bloomberg News analysis.
Some Rich Colleges Aren’t Sharing With the Locals – (Bloomberg)
How do so many other countries keep their campaigns so short while the U.S. drags on so long? The simple answer is that many countries have laws dictating how long a campaign period is, while the U.S. doesn’t.
Canada Reminds Us That American Elections Are Much Longer – (NPR)
But there’s no other highly industrialized country with a homicide death rate similar to the one black Americans experience. Their homicide death rate, 19.4 per 100,000 persons, is about 12 times higher than the average rate among all people in other developed countries.
Black Americans Are Killed At 12 Times The Rate Of People In Other Developed Countries – (FiveThirtyEight)
That’s because brand-name drugs with patents that grant exclusivity account for about 72 percent of drug spending, even though they are only about 10 percent of all prescriptions dispensed.
Tighter Patent Rules Could Help Lower Drug Prices, Study Shows – (NPR)
Olympics:
And in the 18-to-49-year-old age group coveted by advertisers, it’s been even worse. That audience has been 25 percent smaller, according to Bloomberg Intelligence.
NBC’s $12 Billion Olympics Bet Stumbles, Thanks to Millennials – (Bloomberg)
National Park Service 100th Birthday:
Whatever the case, you can thank these people for leaving the campgrounds a little bit less crowded for the rest of us:
I Can’t Stop Reading One-Star Yelp Reviews of National Parks – (Mother Jones)
Collectively, minorities made up just over 20 percent of the visitors to national parks, despite the fact that they made up nearly 40 percent of the U.S. population.
Don’t Care About National Parks? The Park Service Needs You To – (NPR)
Betty Reid Soskin, 93, is thought to be the nation’s oldest active park ranger, according to the U.S. Department of the Interior.
America’s Oldest Park Ranger, 93, Is A Fierce Advocate For Young Women Of Color Everywhere – (Huffington Post)
Just for Fun:
I view pain as the body’s indication that damage has occurred, is occurring or is about to occur.
This Scientist Stung Himself With Dozens Of Insects Because No One Else Would – (FiveThirtyEight)