Trends – Negative Real Interest Rates
I’m sure many of you have recently read about the risk of bonds or that bonds are the next bubble. Should we consider bonds a safe place to invest, to earn income or to diversify the risk present in today’s world? The current environment is definitely challenging. The Fed, in its attempt to charge the .. read more
Secular Trends – Keynesian Policies
Economies travel in cycles. Some factors contributing to economic cycles are the following: Periods of great innovation and capital formation Fluctuations in fiscal policies Credit/Money creation War, disease, natural disaster At Alhambra, we often refer to Keynesian theory v Classical theory in reference to responses to the cyclical nature of an economy. The reality, economies .. read more
Secular Trends – Rent Seeking
There is definitely a higher cost of living in certain areas of the United States. This can be because an area is geographically desirable, the beauty and climate of the California coast or the cosmopolitan setting of Manhattan; it can be because an area is economically desirable, Silicon Valley or Cambridge, MA. Everyone has their .. read more
Tactical Update
We continue to hold to the thesis that we reside in a cyclical bull market in the context of a secular bear market. The cycle seems to be concentrated in discretionary items like automobiles and ipads. An aging fleet of cars needs to be replaced. The average age of a car in the US is .. read more
Tactical Portfolio Update – Quarterly Performance Q1
The following is a presentation of current asset allocation and performance for Alhambra Investment Partners Tactical Strategies as of 3/31/2012. The performance presentation represents the gross of fees, time-weighted return versus each portfolio’s designated benchmark. The performance represents the underlying modeled strategy of client accounts at Folio Institutional. Global Opportunities .. read more
Tactical Update
This week, one particular article sparked an intense internal dialogue about some of the global economic realities that have us concerned. The article is from Peking University’s Professor Michael Pettis. Prof. Pettis opines that Chinese citizens would rather save than spend and that Japan, who has recently run a current account deficit, would prefer to .. read more
Tactical Update
Some important items to take away from this week: The Greek 170bln bailout package was finalized. The Fed assessed the economy as improving and instituted no new monetary programs and will continue to reinvest principal and roll over expiring treasuries at auction. Fed Press Release Commercial and Industrial loan growth is robust and the latest .. read more
Independent Adviser v Broker/Dealer
I don’t even feel compelled to write anything…these parting words say it all. Op-Ed to the NYT from departed Goldman Executive Director, Greg Smith, Why I am Leaving Goldman Sachs: To put the problem in the simplest terms, the interests of the client continue to be sidelined in the way the firm operates and thinks about .. read more
