THE WisdomTree BLOG
Professor Jeremy Siegel had the opportunity to interview Janet Yellen live at the University of Pennsylvania last week, and a recording of their conversation was released on our “Behind the Markets” podcast.
Japan’s political stability and Prime Minister Abe’s strong grip on power have been the centrepiece of the “Bullish Japan Thesis” for many investors. Jesper discusses the implications of the “Moritomo Affair” and the possible consequences to the economy in a possible post-Abe scenario.
The Bank of Japan will hold its first policy board meeting with the newly appointed board members on April 26 and 27. Jesper Koll discusses the growing probability of the “dovish” faction gaining momentum, with at least two of the nine board members voting for added monetary stimulus.
If interest rates are likely to rise in 2018, what could be one possible solution to better align an equity portfolio? WisdomTree discusses its innovative way to incorporate a measure of forward-looking earnings expectations into its dividend-focused approach.
Do commodities have a place in a portfolio?
This is an interesting question in today’s environment. Those of us who have read various finance text books including sections on the benefits of things like “asset allocation” and “diversification” would, almost without thinking, say “yes.”
But if we look at the reality of what market participants have experienced in the past five years, we then recognize that, behaviourally, what has been practiced may look quite different.
This is an interesting question in today’s environment. Those of us who have read various finance text books including sections on the benefits of things like “asset allocation” and “diversification” would, almost without thinking, say “yes.”
But if we look at the reality of what market participants have experienced in the past five years, we then recognize that, behaviourally, what has been practiced may look quite different.
Jesper Koll, our Head of Japan, is bullish on Japan and sometimes has a hard time making his case considering Japan’s many lost decades. So, what’s different this time? Why won’t Japan slide back into another lost decade? Because Koll believes four fundamental forces have changed from negative to positive.
In financial markets, we search for relationships that might be connected in order to explain what’s driving returns. While it’s exciting to find these apparent nuggets of truth, market shifts may force them to disappear. WisdomTree explains how negative correlation between Japanese equities and the yen has shifted and how it affects investment decisions going forward.
Christopher Gannatti
Associate Director of Research
Christopher Gannatti began at WisdomTree as a Research Analyst in December 2010, working directly with Jeremy Schwartz, CFA®, Director of Research. He is involved in creating and communicating WisdomTree’s thoughts on the markets, as well as analysing existing strategies and developing new approaches. Christopher came to WisdomTree from Lord Abbett, where he worked for four and a half years as a Regional Consultant. He received his MBA in Quantitative Finance, Accounting, and Economics from NYU’s Stern School of Business in 2010, and he received his bachelor’s degree from Colgate University in Economics in 2006. Christopher is a holder of the Chartered Financial Analyst designation.
Viktor Nossek
Director of Research
Viktor, who has over 14 years’ experience in research, joined the firm from Renaissance Asset Managers where he was Head of Research. Viktor provides macro research on various themes covering equities, commodities and fixed income. His research for WisdomTree in Europe offers investment strategies for the current range of Smart Beta UCITS ETFs as well as the Boost range of short and leveraged Exchange Traded Notes. Viktor has previously worked as a Research Analyst at BlackRock and Thomson Financial. He started his career as an Equity Strategist at Commerzbank, after he completed a Masters in Economics from Maastricht University, in the Netherlands.
Nizam Hamid
ETF Strategist
Nizam Hamid is an ETF Strategist for WisdomTree in Europe and has extensive experience in the European ETF market. Prior to this he was at C8 Investments, a systematic hedge fund, focusing on business development and quantitative strategies, before that he was a consultant at FTSE. From 2010 to 2012, he was Head of ETF Strategy and Deputy Head of Lyxor ETFs, at the time Europe’s second largest ETF issuer. Before joining Lyxor he was Head of Sales Strategy for the Europe and the Middle East at iShares in London. Prior to that, he was Global Head of ETFs, Portfolio and Index Strategy at Deutsche Bank from 1998 to 2008. He has also worked as a quantitative analyst in London and Tokyo for UBS, BZW and Bankers Trust / NatWest Markets. He holds a Degree in Economics from the University of Liverpool.
Nick Leung
Research Analyst
Nick Leung is a Research Analyst for WisdomTree in Europe. He is responsible for macroeconomic commentary and analysis, formulating investment strategies and trade ideas, as well as the maintenance of research collateral. Prior to joining in 2015, Nick was at Source, having completed his Master’s Degree at Imperial College London. During this time he was also involved in an ice-cream entrepreneurship project with Unilever. Nick holds a BA in Economics from the University of Nottingham.
Jose Poncela
Head of ETNs
Jose is Head of ETNs for WisdomTree in Europe and is responsible for managing WisdomTree’s Boost ETP platform and products. Prior to joining Boost/WisdomTree as a founding employee in 2012, Jose held positions as a structurer of strategic equity transactions at UBS and Nomura and qualified as an attorney working for a major US law firm. He holds an MBA from London Business School, Master in Laws from Fordham University in New York and legal and business degrees from Spanish universities.
Jason Guthrie
Director of Capital Markets
Jason Guthrie is Director of Capital Markets for WisdomTree in Europe. Guthrie is responsible for ensuring smooth trade execution across WisdomTree’s UCITS ETFs and Boost ETPs throughout Europe, Israel and Latin America. Prior to joining WisdomTree, Guthrie worked at Deutsche Bank within its ETF Capital Markets group. Before Deutsche Bank, he worked at Macquarie Bank as an Investment Executive based in Sydney, Australia. Jason holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Finance) from Macquarie University in Sydney.
Jesper Koll
WisdomTree's Head of Japan
Jesper Koll was appointed Chief Executive Officer of WisdomTree Japan on July 1, 2015. Over the past two decades Jesper has been consistently ranked as one of the top Japan strategists/economists, working as Chief Strategist and Head of Research for major U.S. investment banks J.P. Morgan and Merrill Lynch. His analysis and insights have earned him a position on several Japanese government advisory committees and Jesper is also one of the few non-Japanese members of the Keizai Doyukai, the Japan Association of Corporate Executives. He has written two books in Japanese, Towards a New Japanese Golden Age and The End of Heisei Deflation. After arriving in Japan in 1986 Jesper initially worked as an aide to a Member of Parliament. Jesper has a Masters degree from the School of Advanced and International Studies at Johns Hopkins University and was a research fellow at both Tokyo University and Kyoto University. He is a graduate of the Lester B. Pearson College of the Pacific.
Florian Ginez
Research Analyst
Florian Ginez is a Research Analyst for WisdomTree in Europe. He is responsible for market analysis, formulating investment and hedging strategies, trade ideas, as well as the development of products collateral and automating research processes. He also works closely with WisdomTree’s Quantitative Group on data analytics. Florian joined WisdomTree in 2016 after he started his career as an Assistant Portfolio Manager at Amaïka Asset Management in Paris, researching factor investing. Florian holds a Master’s degree from Reims Management School.
Vania Pang
Capital Markets and Investment Solutions, Index and Quantitative Investment, ICBC Credit Suisse Asset Management (International) Company Limited
Ms. Pang is responsible for Capital Markets and Investment Solutions functions of the Index and Quantitative Investment department at the ICBC Credit Suisse Asset Management (International) Company Limited. From 2012 to 2016, Ms. Pang was the Vice President of Corporate Strategy and Development, Asia Coal Limited, where she led the strategic mergers and acquisitions, capital raising and investor relations management. Prior to that, she was the Associate Director, Business Development of Crown One Asset Management Company Limited, responsible for sales and marketing of fund products. Between 2007 and 2008, Ms. Pang was Assistant Manager, Public Distribution Hong Kong (Equity Derivatives and Private Investor Product Sales) of RBS, handling sales and marketing of listed equity derivatives products. Before joining RBS, she was an anchor and reporter with the Cable TV and Hong Kong Economic Journal.
Ms. Pang holds a M.Sc. in Development Finance from The University of Manchester, a M.A. in Journalism and a B.A. in Business Administration from The Chinese University of Hong Kong.
Ms. Pang holds a M.Sc. in Development Finance from The University of Manchester, a M.A. in Journalism and a B.A. in Business Administration from The Chinese University of Hong Kong.
Jack Jiang
Senior ETF Specialist, Index and Quantitative Investment, ICBC Credit Suisse Asset Management (International) Company Limited
Mr. Jiang joined ICBC Credit Suisse Asset Management (International) Company Limited as Senior ETF Specialist of Index and Quantitative Investment Department in November 2017. Before joining ICBC CS (International), Mr. Jiang was Director, Head of China in the client coverage team of S&P Dow Jones Indices, where he led the effort on sales and marketing in China. Prior to that, he was the head of the sales team of Dow Jones Newswire in China. Mr. Jiang had also worked for Platts, another subsidiary of S&P Global as Head of Beijing office. Mr. Jiang holds double degree, a Bachelor degree of Economy in International Economy and Business, and a Bachelor degree of Science in Automobile Engineering, with a minor degree in Computer Science, from Beijing Polytechnic University.