Beyond Bulls & Bears

Category: Equity

Thinking Holistically About ESG
Equity

Thinking Holistically About ESG

In this excerpt from our latest “Global Investment Outlook,” Franklin Equity Group Portfolio Manager Serena Perin Vinton discusses how her team thinks about environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing and the opportunities in investment-driven innovations levered to a more sustainable environment.

Serena Perin Vinton, CFA |
Is the Energy Price Surge “Transitory” or a Longer-Lasting Trend?
Equity

Is the Energy Price Surge “Transitory” or a Longer-Lasting Trend?

Energy prices have surged to multi-year highs amid the global economic recovery from COVID-19, contributing to larger-than-anticipated jumps in measures of headline inflation. While some policymakers had suggested inflationary forces would prove “transitory,” today many are questioning that thesis. Franklin Equity Group Portfolio Manager Frederick Fromm outlines what has been impacting energy prices, whether he sees the recent price rise as sustainable, and where he is finding investment opportunities within the sector.

Frederick Fromm, CFA |
PODCAST: Anatomy of a Recession: Looking Ahead to 2022
Equity

PODCAST: Anatomy of a Recession: Looking Ahead to 2022

In our latest "Talking Markets" podcast, we hear from Jeff Schulze, Investment Strategist at ClearBridge Investments, about the Federal Reserve’s timetable for tightening, slow growth, the COVID-19 Delta variant, and the resilience of the US consumer. He explains how all of these variants are factored into determining the risk of recession along with the investment implications.

Jeffrey Schulze, CFA |
Meet the Manager: Sara Araghi
Equity

Meet the Manager: Sara Araghi

Sara Araghi truly embodies what it means to be a mentor—particularly for other women—in an industry that has typically been more male-dominated. She is a portfolio manager and research analyst with Franklin Equity Group and director of Franklin Venture Partners, the firm’s specialized investment team that invests in private opportunities, focusing on mid- and late-stage companies. San Francisco Business Times recently honored Sara in its “Most Influential Women in Bay Area Business” awards, highlighting her role mentoring and investing in female founders. Here, we get to know Sara.

Sara Araghi, CFA |
PODCAST: Potential Longer-Term Effects from Current Economic and Investment Challenges
Alternatives

PODCAST: Potential Longer-Term Effects from Current Economic and Investment Challenges

Franklin Templeton’s Sonal Desai, Martin Currie’s Alastair Reynolds, and ClearBridge’s Pawel Wroblewski join our Kim Catechis to assess the possible investment impacts of major global challenges, including the ongoing pandemic, growing income inequality and climate change.

Kim Catechis |
Evergrande and China: A Lehman Moment—or Less “Grande” Than That?
Multi-Asset

Evergrande and China: A Lehman Moment—or Less “Grande” Than That?

With respect to the evolving Evergrande situation in China, our Franklin Templeton Investment Solutions team addresses two main questions: could this be a “Lehman moment,” and what are the global implications of a Chinese property market slowdown?

Richard Hsu, CFA |
Quick Thoughts: Innovation Builds Deep Water Technology Waves
Perspectives

Quick Thoughts: Innovation Builds Deep Water Technology Waves

The next decade will see an urgent and widespread boom in investments in innovation across all economic sectors, according to Stephen Dover and Kim Catechis of the Franklin Templeton Investment Institute. They say this technology wave will be experienced in both private and public sectors, and in every facet of investment portfolios for years to come. Below are some of their thoughts from the Institute’s Deep Water Waves paper.

Stephen H. Dover, CFA |
The Value of Being Actively and Constructively Engaged
Equity

The Value of Being Actively and Constructively Engaged

Robust engagement with company management can be key in sparking catalysts that unlock shareholder value and potentially lead to better returns over the longer term, according to Franklin Mutual Series Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Ambassador Tim Rankin.

Tim Rankin, CFA |
Coalition Politics: Compromise is Key to Funding Germany’s Future
Multi-Asset

Coalition Politics: Compromise is Key to Funding Germany’s Future

A three-party coalition could soon govern Germany for the first time in the country’s history following recent elections. Matthias Hoppe, senior vice president and portfolio manager, Franklin Templeton Investment Solutions, believes uncertainty caused by coalition talks is likely to increase volatility in Europe’s financial markets, but changing a conservative attitude to public spending is the real challenge for a new government as Germany wrestles with the reality of increasing macro-economic imbalances and a stated aim to achieve carbon neutrality by 2045.

Matthias Hoppe |
Quick Thoughts: Addressing Undiversified Risk
Perspectives

Quick Thoughts: Addressing Undiversified Risk

When diversification is a core principle for successful investing, what stops women from offering their talents in finance and investment careers? Katrina Dudley, Investment Strategist for Franklin Mutual Series, and I discussed diversification risks and Dudley’s and Ellen Carr’s new book, "Undiversified: The Big Gender Short in Investment Management."

Stephen H. Dover, CFA |
Quick Thoughts: The Growth and Inflation Argument Continues
Perspectives

Quick Thoughts: The Growth and Inflation Argument Continues

When it comes to questions about inflation, growth, and the impacts of vaccination rates on global economies, many of us are asking: what’s next? Our Head of the Franklin Templeton Investment Institute, Stephen Dover, and five economists from Franklin Templeton’s specialist investment teams discuss the current environment and how it shapes their views on the path forward.

Stephen H. Dover, CFA |
An Update on US Growth and Post-Pandemic Equity Opportunities
Equity

An Update on US Growth and Post-Pandemic Equity Opportunities

Franklin Equity Group Portfolio Manager Grant Bowers discusses whether recent moderation in US growth will continue, and where he’s finding opportunities in equities today.

Grant Bowers |