In a current investment environment “fraught with peril,” GMO’s Tom Hancock and Lucas White detail in this quarterly letter their firm’s history in investing in high-quality companies and explain why they believe now is a particularly opportune time to do so. Read Now
“The goal of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 is environmentally thoughtful – but, in our view, it’s not economically possible,” write Massif Capital’s Will Thomson and Chip Russell in this blog post. Read Now
GMO’s asset allocation team in this recent report describes the “extraordinary opportunity” it sees today in international deep value equities. Read Now
Prompted by what its authors call the unsolved puzzle of whether “narcissistic leaders hinder or benefit their organizations,” this academic study attempts to explain why the subject has proven to be so hard to figure out. Read Now
Noting up front the “incredible cheapness of deep value stocks today,” GMO’s Ben Inker in this white paper examines what he considers the common market misperception that value stocks are more vulnerable to an economic downturn. Read Now
GMO asset-allocation strategist James Montier revisits and updates a paper he wrote over a decade ago predicting a normalization of corporate profit margins. One pessimistic conclusion for U.S. stocks: “Even on the most bullish case, that of no mean reversion in valuations or margins, investors look set to earn a fraction of the compensation that has historically been demanded for the risk of owning equities.” Read Now
The current imbalance in the market between “highly speculative growth sectors” and “virtually everything else” is quite bullish for that “everything else,” says Richard Bernstein Advisors in this recent market commentary. Read Now
Polen Capital’s Jeff Mueller in this “Beyond Fundamentals” interview describes his firm’s long-held interest in the global beauty care and cosmetics industry and leaders in it such as L’Oreal and Estee Lauder. View Now
This academic study analyzes the extent to which the presence of meme-stock investors had an impact on how well and democratically such impacted companies were governed. Read Now
As might have been expected, there’s been some back and forth since Hindenburg Research issued its short report on Icahn Enterprises on May 2, as described in this follow-up from Hindenburg on May 11. Read Now
Palm Valley Capital’s Eric Cinnamond in this blog post expresses skepticism over companies’ ability to continue raising prices without negatively impacting economic activity: “Like many of the drivers of the current market and profit cycle, we believe the strategy of making less to make more is unsustainable. The willingness and ability of certain customers to pay higher prices should not be confused with a healthy economy. It’s not.” Read Now
Using their recent review of Brazilian state-run oil company Petrobras as a case study, Will Thomson and Chip Russell of Massif Capital describe how they incorporate the assessment of political risk into their investment deliberations. Read Now
Following Bed Bath & Beyond’s recent bankruptcy filing, Wharton Marketing Professor John Zhang in this interview describes why he believes the concept of the retail “category killer” has become decidedly passé. Listen Now
University endowments, according to this study, are more likely to invest in private-equity funds managed by alumni of their school. The study further examines whether that turns out to be a good idea. Read Now
In what is still an unfolding story, Howard Marks of Oaktree Capital in this memo to investors distinguishes between what he considers the more and less significant aspects of recent turmoil in the banking industry. Read Now
Richard Bernstein of Richard Bernstein Advisors offers some historical perspective on tight monetary policy and bank failures and warns against getting caught up in what he calls constant hyperbole: “Investors who listen to Henny Penny seem likely to both over-assess the risks within the market and miss future opportunities. Rather than structuring portfolios against any risk that could ever occur, the key to rational investing is following an intellectually sound and well-tested investment process.” Read Now
Short-seller Hindenburg Research takes on Carl Icahn in this report on the long-time activist investor’s Icahn Enterprises: “Overall, we think Icahn, a legend of Wall Street, has made a classic mistake of taking on too much leverage in the face of sustained losses: a combination that rarely ends well.” Read Now
Horizon Kinetics’ Murray Stahl and Steve Bregman in their latest typically wide-ranging quarterly letter discuss, among other topics, banking turmoil, investment decision-making, business models, real estate, gold and cryptocurrencies. Read Now
“We suggest investors remove their blinders and be open-minded when it comes to screening for stocks across growth and value factors,” write Liz Ann Sonders and Kevin Gordon of Charles Schwab in this recent market report. “It’s particularly important in today’s market environment; during which we continue to emphasize ‘quality.’” Read Now
This academic study examines the impact on companies from perceived activism by their CEOs with respect to gun control. Read Now