Apriem Portfolio Administrator, Matt Kawashima, recently attended the annual PIMCO wealth management forum where he heard from legendary bond managers like Dan Ivascyn and Mark Kiesel. The forum included dialogue about Dan Ivascyn’s (Group CIO) secular view on income investing in today’s environment, an emphasis on investing in high quality bonds with Mark Kiesel
The narrative that has begun to manifest in the current market environment is that of a “window of weakness”, as PIMCO puts it. You can interpret this as heightened uncertainty in where our economy is headed. What’s outside our point of view from the window? Is there a recession around the corner? Or will
By Benjamin Lau, CFA, Chief Investment Officer I dislike generalizations like “the market,” but last year deserves an exception. In 2018, every market was down, and the best investment was cash. Stocks at home and abroad were down, as were bonds (high- and low-quality) and commodities. Cash, as they say, was king. The downturn started
By Alan Ahmatovic Just as the Green Day song goes, “wake me up when September ends!” In case you’re unfamiliar, here is a quick link to the song for some context (Youtube Link). It wasn’t just Apriem that felt this late summer lull, as investors across the globe faced lower returns and higher volatility. Some
By Chris Whitaker, CFP® The year is 1948. Your friend Roger, who is wearing a plaid sport shirt tucked in near his belly button, excitedly tells you that the BBQ place on West 14th Street has now re-opened as a burger place called “McDonalds.” You park your Chevy Fleetmaster, and walk up to a small
There was love in the air in February and it was not only on Valentine’s Day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, the stock market index comprised of 30 largely publicly owned companies and a common benchmark for the US economy, hit 12 record closing highs in a row and broke the 1987 streak (today’s streak
President Donald Trump’s wall, relations with Mexico, phone talks with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, a temporary ban on travelers from seven predominantly Muslim countries. Whenever you turn on the television or your computer, the inescapable, unrelenting conversation ensues. When it comes to investing and your portfolio, it is only natural to focus on the short-term
Historically, floating-rate loans outperform the broad bond market in flat- and rising-rate environments. Given that the Fed raised rates in December and with more increases expected in 2017, floating rate bonds can benefit from it. Floating-rate loans, also called bank loans or leveraged loans, are below-investment grade corporate debts. They are called “floating rate” because
Looking back at 2016 it looks like we had a remarkable year. The year did not start off so bright though. Facing a slowing economy and a drop in corporate profits America equity markets started the year off slowly. Those concerns caused a rush of money into safe haven assets. From Treasury bonds and boring
I admit, I love this kind of stuff. I was up late watching the Brexit vote and I was up late last night watching our presidential election. As Trump closed in on 270, I also loved watching the stunned faces of many broadcasters. Just as Brexit, last night’s election has proven that modern day polling
