Beyond Bulls & Bears

K2 Hedge Fund Strategy Outlook: Fourth Quarter 2021
Alternatives

K2 Hedge Fund Strategy Outlook: Fourth Quarter 2021

Is inflation truly transitory? Will central banks start to tighten the policy reins? Will earnings continue to boost equity valuations? Heading into year end, the K2 Advisors team ponders these and other questions in its fourth quarter (Q4) hedge-fund strategy outlook.

Brooks Ritchey |
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 |
Quick Thoughts: Diving into Debt, MMT, and Their Deep Water Waves
Perspectives

Quick Thoughts: Diving into Debt, MMT, and Their Deep Water Waves

After the first global pandemic in a century, growing pressures on sovereign balance sheets from stimuli in 2020-2021 and policy responses to the coming waves of debt—trends previously in place—have only accelerated. Our Stephen Dover, Head of the Franklin Templeton Investment Institute, and Investment Strategist Kim Catechis, examine the debt wave that drives many of the economic policy discussions today.

Stephen H. Dover, CFA |
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 |
Are We at the Inflection Point of Climate Change Investing?
Perspectives

Are We at the Inflection Point of Climate Change Investing?

The rise of environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing is nothing short of extraordinary, according to Yu Meng, Chair of Asia Pacific at Franklin Templeton. As we are constantly reminded by extreme climate change events, he says urgent actions are required from all of parts of society and the economy, including the financial markets. In this excerpt from his recent article, “Are we at the inflection point of climate investing?” in the Journal of Investment Management, Meng explores whether climate change investing is at an inflection point.

Yu (Ben) Meng, Ph.D. |
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 |
Greener Post-Election Germany Likely, but Limited Fixed Income Impact
Fixed Income

Greener Post-Election Germany Likely, but Limited Fixed Income Impact

The German election resulted in change in party leadership, but market impact should be limited, according to David Zahn, our Head of European Fixed Income. He shares an overview of the election implications.

David Zahn, CFA, FRM |
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: Digital Trends Impacting Investors and Advisors
Multi-Asset

Quick Thoughts: Digital Trends Impacting Investors and Advisors

Investors and financial advisors alike want to understand the fascinating trends that are transforming the investment industry. Recently, our Chief Market Strategist and Head of Franklin Templeton Investment Institute, Stephen Dover, hosted a roundtable discussing trends at the intersection of innovation and goals-based investing with Yaqub Ahmed, Head of Head of Investment-Only Division-U.S., U.S. Defined Contribution, U.S. Insurance & Sub-Advisory; Adam Petryk, Head of Solutions Strategy and Development, Franklin Templeton Investment Solutions; and Craig Ramsey, Chief Operating Officer, AdvisorEngine.

Stephen H. Dover, CFA |