Lessons from the children of Mumbai
Sometimes no amount of preparation (or “book study”) can educate you as much as seeing it with your own eyes.
The Art of Boring™ was created for curious and passionate investors. We share strategies, frameworks, and insights to help readers and listeners make better investment decisions. Our aim? To provide some bottom-up, long-term investing signal to cut through the short-term noise.
Sometimes no amount of preparation (or “book study”) can educate you as much as seeing it with your own eyes.
One of the core tenets of Jackson’s approach to leadership is allowing individuals to discover their own destiny by forcing them to accept individual responsibility.
If recent events in China teach us anything, it is that there is a difference between control and resilience. Historically, when governments try this hard to control markets, the control they seek has already been lost.
The middle of a hurricane is not the time to fix your ship. Rather, the best time to fortify your ship is long before you let it sail from harbour.
Investors would do well to ensure their portfolios are built to be resilient no matter what unfolds in China.
Low-cost lessons are gifts from the gods of probability. Given that many lessons in life are learned through pain, low-cost lessons are opportunities to grow without enduring significant hardship.
A better understanding of how and when to utilize experts helps prevent wasting time and money.
Chinese reform is a big deal. Despite being the second largest economy in the world and experiencing decades of impressive growth, China suffers from structural challenges that hamper its future potential.
While you may label this Millennial as old fashioned, I would certainly prefer a good rate of return over a poor one, no matter how dull the portfolio holdings.
Bondholders have been on quite the ride in the last few months. The year began with yields moving lower in many regions—notably Europe—to the surprise of some investors who just last year thought that rates could only go higher.
Constantly switching lanes while driving rarely gets you to your destination faster and it significantly increases your risk of accidents and fines. So why do it?
It’s hard not to love Curious George. It’s an unfair contest really—here’s a cute little monkey who, with the best of intentions, constantly gets into trouble as he explores the overly-structured world around him!
Sometimes no amount of preparation (or “book study”) can educate you as much as seeing it with your own eyes.
One of the core tenets of Jackson’s approach to leadership is allowing individuals to discover their own destiny by forcing them to accept individual responsibility.
If recent events in China teach us anything, it is that there is a difference between control and resilience. Historically, when governments try this hard to control markets, the control they seek has already been lost.
The middle of a hurricane is not the time to fix your ship. Rather, the best time to fortify your ship is long before you let it sail from harbour.
Investors would do well to ensure their portfolios are built to be resilient no matter what unfolds in China.
Low-cost lessons are gifts from the gods of probability. Given that many lessons in life are learned through pain, low-cost lessons are opportunities to grow without enduring significant hardship.
A better understanding of how and when to utilize experts helps prevent wasting time and money.
Chinese reform is a big deal. Despite being the second largest economy in the world and experiencing decades of impressive growth, China suffers from structural challenges that hamper its future potential.
While you may label this Millennial as old fashioned, I would certainly prefer a good rate of return over a poor one, no matter how dull the portfolio holdings.
Bondholders have been on quite the ride in the last few months. The year began with yields moving lower in many regions—notably Europe—to the surprise of some investors who just last year thought that rates could only go higher.
Constantly switching lanes while driving rarely gets you to your destination faster and it significantly increases your risk of accidents and fines. So why do it?
It’s hard not to love Curious George. It’s an unfair contest really—here’s a cute little monkey who, with the best of intentions, constantly gets into trouble as he explores the overly-structured world around him!
High yield spreads continue to tighten. As risk premiums fall, and economic and political conditions appear positive for corporates in general, it is tempting to reach for yield in credit markets. As Howard Marks of Oaktree points out, the all-in yield (benchmark yield plus risk premium) on high yield is 7.0% and who doesn’t love a 7.0% return? What could possibly go wrong?
When this piece was being written, Boeing had not filed their US$25 billion shelf prospectus and the company was a downgrade candidate to high yield (HY) at both Moody's and S&P which would qualify them as a "Fallen Angel". The term “Fallen Angel” is often paired with its opposite, a “Rising Star”. We decided it would be interesting to highlight the importance and impact that a Fallen Angel has on both the IG market, and, more importantly, the HY or "Junk" bond market.
While speculators fuss over the cacophony of political campaigns and election forecasts, savvy investors recognize that the true impact of elections on financial markets is mostly short-term noise irrelevant to long-term financial strategies.
Private credit assets have surged to $2-3 trillion USD over the past decade, but investors might benefit from shifting some focus back to public credit, which offers attractive returns, transparency, and liquidity. While both credit types share common features, the current strong tilt towards private credit may overlook the strategic advantages of a well-diversified public credit allocation.
Current profit levels for fast-growing companies might not necessarily be representative of their true earnings power or “latent earnings power.” When it comes to large businesses, we believe this concept may be underappreciated because they are generally assumed to be operating closer to a mature, steady state.
The U.S. equity market is the largest and deepest in the world. As such, it has been analyzed in many ways to determine the optimal means of gaining exposure.
A company’s pricing strategy can help reveal insights into how a company's business model works, its sensitivity to elevated inflation, and why certain pricing strategies work better than others in different operating and economic environments.
There's something highly worthwhile in seeing a company's operations with our own eyes.
We need to understand where we are in the debt super cycle to inform our investment decision making.
Recent AI breakthroughs are underscoring the power of the centaur model—humans + machines—creating something more potent than either model operating independently.
In our view, market participants systematically underestimate the importance of vulnerabilities while correspondingly overestimating the importance of triggers. Why?
It’s inflation’s second punch that can deliver a blow that investors may not be expecting.
'Twas the week before Christmas, thus time to review—the economic story of 2022.
High yield spreads continue to tighten. As risk premiums fall, and economic and political conditions appear positive for corporates in general, it is tempting to reach for yield in credit markets. As Howard Marks of Oaktree points out, the all-in yield (benchmark yield plus risk premium) on high yield is 7.0% and who doesn’t love a 7.0% return? What could possibly go wrong?
When this piece was being written, Boeing had not filed their US$25 billion shelf prospectus and the company was a downgrade candidate to high yield (HY) at both Moody's and S&P which would qualify them as a "Fallen Angel". The term “Fallen Angel” is often paired with its opposite, a “Rising Star”. We decided it would be interesting to highlight the importance and impact that a Fallen Angel has on both the IG market, and, more importantly, the HY or "Junk" bond market.
While speculators fuss over the cacophony of political campaigns and election forecasts, savvy investors recognize that the true impact of elections on financial markets is mostly short-term noise irrelevant to long-term financial strategies.
Private credit assets have surged to $2-3 trillion USD over the past decade, but investors might benefit from shifting some focus back to public credit, which offers attractive returns, transparency, and liquidity. While both credit types share common features, the current strong tilt towards private credit may overlook the strategic advantages of a well-diversified public credit allocation.
Current profit levels for fast-growing companies might not necessarily be representative of their true earnings power or “latent earnings power.” When it comes to large businesses, we believe this concept may be underappreciated because they are generally assumed to be operating closer to a mature, steady state.
The U.S. equity market is the largest and deepest in the world. As such, it has been analyzed in many ways to determine the optimal means of gaining exposure.
A company’s pricing strategy can help reveal insights into how a company's business model works, its sensitivity to elevated inflation, and why certain pricing strategies work better than others in different operating and economic environments.
There's something highly worthwhile in seeing a company's operations with our own eyes.
We need to understand where we are in the debt super cycle to inform our investment decision making.
Recent AI breakthroughs are underscoring the power of the centaur model—humans + machines—creating something more potent than either model operating independently.
In our view, market participants systematically underestimate the importance of vulnerabilities while correspondingly overestimating the importance of triggers. Why?
It’s inflation’s second punch that can deliver a blow that investors may not be expecting.
'Twas the week before Christmas, thus time to review—the economic story of 2022.
We discuss key trends and positioning in credit markets with Brian Carney, lead portfolio manager of the Mawer global credit opportunities strategy. We touch on the year’s strong performance driven by tighter spreads, higher yields, and emerging risks such as low risk premiums and the U.S. election. Topics include corporate issuance, fallen angels, and public-private credit convergence. Emphasizing capital preservation, Brian highlights portfolio positioning in high-quality, short-duration securities, such as North American bank bonds, while avoiding high-yield exposure.
We discuss the global equity strategy with Christian Deckart, chief investment officer and portfolio manager at Mawer. Christian stresses managing absolute risk over relative risk for better long-term outcomes and details Mawer’s approach to risk management, focusing on decision-making, portfolio risks, and external factors such as government debt and rising rates. He also discusses adapting to AI trends, preferring companies leveraging AI applications over infrastructure investments. He emphasizes maintaining focus on fundamentals amid evolving global and technological landscapes.
We discuss market insights with two representatives from the trading desk: Rita Tien, who trades the Americas from Toronto, and Peter Dmytruk, who trades Asia from Singapore. Rita and Peter highlight the complexities of trading, emphasizing the importance of regional differences, the role of the trading desk in executing investment decisions, and more.
In this episode, Mawer portfolio managers and analysts discuss what they fundamentally look for in a bank as an investment. Specifically, how they view banks and the industry trends, as well as local dynamics, and ultimately what makes each of these businesses both unique and attractive.
Peter Lampert, lead portfolio manager of the International Equity Strategy, discusses the recent Chinese stimulus and its effects on emerging markets. He highlights key long-term risks in China, including weak sentiment, regulatory challenges, and geopolitical tensions, while emphasizing the potential of companies like Tencent and Tencent Music. The conversation also covers Turkey's Bim, a discount retailer thriving amid economic uncertainty. Peter explains how the portfolio's success stems from stock selection, especially with stealth performers like Vietnam’s FPT and Taiwan’s IGS, and the importance of balancing macro risks with company-specific growth potential.
In this episode, Steven Visscher, lead manager of the balanced strategies, discusses the impact of rising interest rates and inflation on the balanced portfolio in recent years, Mawer’s disciplined and collaborative approach to portfolio construction, and the importance of having a long-term perspective. He spoke about recent changes and additions to the balanced portfolio and provided an update on the performance of the balanced portfolio thus far in 2024.
Portfolio Manager Crista Caughlin discusses the economy and factors that drove markets in the third quarter of 2024.
Peter Lampert, lead portfolio manager of the International Equity Strategy, provides insights on the team’s investment process, the state of the portfolio, and the main drivers that are currently having an outsized impact on performance, namely, semiconductors, obesity medicines, and defense companies. He details his team’s rigorous approach to evaluating management teams from both a quantitative and qualitative standpoint, providing an in-depth example of Hitachi. The conversation concludes with a brief discussion of the current macro environment.
Grayson Witcher, the lead manager of the U.S. Equity Strategy, discusses the key drivers currently impacting the U.S. economy, including inflation, interest rates, artificial intelligence, and the upcoming presidential election. He emphasizes the importance of diversification and avoiding sharp edges—particularly during an election year.
Mawer credit analyst Curtis Elkington provides a comprehensive overview of the $50 trillion global commercial real estate market. He covers the current headwinds facing various property sectors, such as pandemic-induced challenges in the office sector and touches on the surprising resilience of the retail segment. Elkington sheds light on the complexities of the commercial mortgage-backed securities market and details the credit analysis process his team uses to evaluate potential investments with examples.
Crista Caughlin, lead Portfolio Manager of the Canadian Bond Strategy, and Brian Carney, lead Portfolio Manager of the Global Credit Opportunities Strategy, provide their thoughts on recent economic data releases, a shift in central bank language, and recent market volatility.
In this episode of the podcast, Mark Rutherford, Co-Manager of the Canadian large-cap equity strategy, discusses the current investment landscape in Canada, highlighting the wide dispersion in sector performance, the impact of central bank policies, and the long-term theme of the global energy transition. He also provides insights into insurance and banking sector performance and shares examples of specific portfolio holdings within the Canadian equity strategy.
Portfolio Manager Manar Hassan-Agha discusses how the Global Equity Team navigates an exuberant market environment while staying true to Mawer’s disciplined investment approach. He delves into the potential impacts of emerging trends, namely artificial intelligence (AI), and provides examples of the team’s measured approach to evaluating the hype and sustainability of these trends.
We discuss key trends and positioning in credit markets with Brian Carney, lead portfolio manager of the Mawer global credit opportunities strategy. We touch on the year’s strong performance driven by tighter spreads, higher yields, and emerging risks such as low risk premiums and the U.S. election. Topics include corporate issuance, fallen angels, and public-private credit convergence. Emphasizing capital preservation, Brian highlights portfolio positioning in high-quality, short-duration securities, such as North American bank bonds, while avoiding high-yield exposure.
We discuss the global equity strategy with Christian Deckart, chief investment officer and portfolio manager at Mawer. Christian stresses managing absolute risk over relative risk for better long-term outcomes and details Mawer’s approach to risk management, focusing on decision-making, portfolio risks, and external factors such as government debt and rising rates. He also discusses adapting to AI trends, preferring companies leveraging AI applications over infrastructure investments. He emphasizes maintaining focus on fundamentals amid evolving global and technological landscapes.
We discuss market insights with two representatives from the trading desk: Rita Tien, who trades the Americas from Toronto, and Peter Dmytruk, who trades Asia from Singapore. Rita and Peter highlight the complexities of trading, emphasizing the importance of regional differences, the role of the trading desk in executing investment decisions, and more.
In this episode, Mawer portfolio managers and analysts discuss what they fundamentally look for in a bank as an investment. Specifically, how they view banks and the industry trends, as well as local dynamics, and ultimately what makes each of these businesses both unique and attractive.
Peter Lampert, lead portfolio manager of the International Equity Strategy, discusses the recent Chinese stimulus and its effects on emerging markets. He highlights key long-term risks in China, including weak sentiment, regulatory challenges, and geopolitical tensions, while emphasizing the potential of companies like Tencent and Tencent Music. The conversation also covers Turkey's Bim, a discount retailer thriving amid economic uncertainty. Peter explains how the portfolio's success stems from stock selection, especially with stealth performers like Vietnam’s FPT and Taiwan’s IGS, and the importance of balancing macro risks with company-specific growth potential.
In this episode, Steven Visscher, lead manager of the balanced strategies, discusses the impact of rising interest rates and inflation on the balanced portfolio in recent years, Mawer’s disciplined and collaborative approach to portfolio construction, and the importance of having a long-term perspective. He spoke about recent changes and additions to the balanced portfolio and provided an update on the performance of the balanced portfolio thus far in 2024.
Portfolio Manager Crista Caughlin discusses the economy and factors that drove markets in the third quarter of 2024.
Peter Lampert, lead portfolio manager of the International Equity Strategy, provides insights on the team’s investment process, the state of the portfolio, and the main drivers that are currently having an outsized impact on performance, namely, semiconductors, obesity medicines, and defense companies. He details his team’s rigorous approach to evaluating management teams from both a quantitative and qualitative standpoint, providing an in-depth example of Hitachi. The conversation concludes with a brief discussion of the current macro environment.
Grayson Witcher, the lead manager of the U.S. Equity Strategy, discusses the key drivers currently impacting the U.S. economy, including inflation, interest rates, artificial intelligence, and the upcoming presidential election. He emphasizes the importance of diversification and avoiding sharp edges—particularly during an election year.
Mawer credit analyst Curtis Elkington provides a comprehensive overview of the $50 trillion global commercial real estate market. He covers the current headwinds facing various property sectors, such as pandemic-induced challenges in the office sector and touches on the surprising resilience of the retail segment. Elkington sheds light on the complexities of the commercial mortgage-backed securities market and details the credit analysis process his team uses to evaluate potential investments with examples.
Crista Caughlin, lead Portfolio Manager of the Canadian Bond Strategy, and Brian Carney, lead Portfolio Manager of the Global Credit Opportunities Strategy, provide their thoughts on recent economic data releases, a shift in central bank language, and recent market volatility.
In this episode of the podcast, Mark Rutherford, Co-Manager of the Canadian large-cap equity strategy, discusses the current investment landscape in Canada, highlighting the wide dispersion in sector performance, the impact of central bank policies, and the long-term theme of the global energy transition. He also provides insights into insurance and banking sector performance and shares examples of specific portfolio holdings within the Canadian equity strategy.
Portfolio Manager Manar Hassan-Agha discusses how the Global Equity Team navigates an exuberant market environment while staying true to Mawer’s disciplined investment approach. He delves into the potential impacts of emerging trends, namely artificial intelligence (AI), and provides examples of the team’s measured approach to evaluating the hype and sustainability of these trends.