Practical analysis for investment professionals 
In the first quarter of 2013, institutional investors added to their equity holdings in the healthcare sector while reducing their exposure to the technology stocks. Among the most widely held stocks, portfolio managers as a group added to positions in Citigroup (C), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), Microsoft (MSFT), and BlackRock (BLK), and trimmed positions in Apple (AAPL), Oracle (ORCL), Pfizer (PFE), and Coca-Cola (KO). Read more
1 CommentIn a recent poll conducted in the CFA Institute Financial NewsBrief, we asked readers, “Should fund managers be required to disclose their portfolio holdings on a quarterly basis?” Nearly 77% of the 737 global respondents think fund managers should be required to disclose their portfolio holdings on a quarterly basis, while about 23% of respondents don’t believe managers should have to reveal their positions every three months. Read more
3 CommentsRobert Johnston, director of the global energy and natural resources practice at Eurasia Group, addresses the prospects for the United States becoming a natural gas “superpower,” and the global geopolitical and investment implications of the US shale energy boom. Read more
Leave a Comment
David Larrabee, CFA, rounds up the most interesting reads for equity investors from the last couple weeks. Read more
Leave a Comment
Antoine van Agtmael argues that an industrial renaissance in the United States is eroding the competitive edge of emerging markets. Read more
Leave a Comment
A recent study designed to decipher the “black box” of sell-side analyst decision making sheds new light on the driving forces behind two important outputs of their work: earnings estimates and stock recommendations. Read more
4 Comments
At the recent CFA Institute Global Investment Risk Symposium, Ron Ryan, CFA, of Ryan ALM, appealed for greater transparency and the application of commonsense principles in pension accounting, warning that without such changes the solvency of corporations, cities, and states is at stake. Read more
1 Comment
As we come upon the close of the first quarter of 2013, most major equity indices around the globe are showing impressive gains, buoyed by continued monetary easing by central banks and hopeful signs of economic resurgence. While investors will likely look for confirmation in upcoming earnings reports, the recent negative preannouncement from economic bellwether FedEx (FDX) should serve as a reminder that profit margins are near all-time highs and could represent a significant hurdle for stocks. Read more
Leave a Comment
In a broad-based study examining two decades worth of returns, a trio of academics find that fund managers who employ technical analysis delivered higher returns than those who did not — results that could help to change the way technical analysis is thought of in the asset management world. Read more
6 Comments