Salient to Investors: Jonathan Mackay at Morgan Stanley Wealth Management said investment-grade bonds will post annual returns of 1% to 2% for the next 7 years versus 8.7% average annual gains in the 30 years through 2012 – Fed stimulus is supporting bond values but lowering portfolio returns. Michael Hartnett at
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: P/E ratios among the 50 largest companies in the S&P 500 Index deviate from the mean by an average 22%, nearly the lowest on record since 1990. An average of 380 Index companies rose in each of the last 5 years, versus 307 in the 1990s. In 2007,
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Gold prices and gold ETP holdings have the most-negative correlation since 2004, making the latter less useful as market predictors.. Mark Luschini at Janney Montgomery Scott said the disconnect is because a lot of money has left. Comex open interest fell to a 5-yr low this month and volatility
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Alexander Antipov at Veles Capital said investors are cautiously optimistic as there are talks and there have been no new sanctions on Russia. Antipov said Russian equities are very cheap, and long-term investors will make serious profits when the Ukraine crisis is solved and things return to
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Few businesses are large enough to merit Warren Buffett’s attention. Berkshire Hathaway spent a third of the total from a year earlier on equities in half1 2014, while sales of stock more than doubled. Buffett dislikes paying a dividend and rarely buys back shares. David Rolfe at Wedgewood Partners said Buffett’s list
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: The Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies said millennials – born from 1979 to 1996 – began saving for retirement at a median age of 22, versus 27 for Generation X and 35 for baby boomers. 71% of millennials offered 401(k) or similar plans contributed a median 8%
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Pundits calling for a huge decline in equities are either the absolutely certain types, who have stuck to their prediction for years, and the less media-savvy academics and heads of research at big investment firms who see a decline but after the market goes higher. The last
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Flows into emerging-market ETFs have turned positive for the year, reversing outflows in the first 2 1/2 months of 2014. The most inflows in 2014 have gone to India-focused ETFs. Investors have withdrawn $1.5 billion from China-targeted ETPs over concern over economic imbalances there. The RSI of the BlackRock ETF
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Paulo Silva at Aguirre Newman said wealthy French are fleeing French taxes to invest in Portugal to take advantage of preferential tax treatment. The French have overtaken the British as the largest group of foreign home buyers. Gustavo Soares at Sotheby’s International Realty said the tax benefits
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Chinese millionaires who invest at least $4.7 million and qualify for Australian residency can get around China’s restrictions on converting currency and sending it abroad. China caps the amount of yuan that individuals can convert into other currencies every year at the equivalent of $50,000 and bars transferring currency
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