THE WisdomTree BLOG
Is your emerging markets allocation complete?
Emerging market (EM) equities sold off sharply following the election of Donald Trump last November, perhaps owing to the protectionist rhetoric and tough trade talk from the president-elect. With that, the MSCI Emerging Markets Index fell 4.2% in the final quarter of 2016, breaking a streak of four consecutive positive quarters.
Japan's tourism boom to bring growing political support for Yen depreciation
India bull run part II: Household inflows propelling India toward multiple-year bull market
We recently covered the ongoing structural changes in India that stand to benefit equities in the long run. In this post, we cover a second propeller for Indian equities that we believe will support gains in the market: the inflow from domestic investors.
India bull run part I: Structural changes propelling India toward multiple-year bull market
Why you can't afford to miss European small caps
After getting past a variety of elections—most notably the French presidential election—without anti-market sentiment spreading throughout Europe, we have seen a relatively large shift in equity market performance. Fundamentals within Europe were allowed to drive performance as opposed to equity markets needing to be wary of Brexit or Trump-like election surprises.
How to use ETPs to manage equity risk
Japan GDP—into the sweet spot
The April-June GDP report suggests that the Japanese economy has entered into a sweet spot, with growth accelerating and broadening into all components of domestic demand. While the 4% annualised GDP growth rate marks peak slingshot acceleration, the details of the report fully verify our thesis that Japan has entered a self-sustaining domestic demand-led up-cycle. Looking ahead towards 2018/19, we maintain our call for 2-2.5% real GDP growth (and 3-3.5% nominal GDP growth). For policy makers, the margin for error on Yen strength is eroding quickly. Specifically, the Japan sweet spot is marked by the following factors.
Smart beta ETFs: Why not all strategies are created equally
Smart beta isn’t a single strategy – it’s a variety of custom-made options for investors to choose from. And transparency and education are paramount in identifying the right smart beta approaches.
Which India index offers the best equity market strategy?
The Indian equity market, we believe, represents one of the most exciting opportunities in emerging markets with a dynamic, fast growing economy underpinned by structural reforms. Improving the business climate is a priority of government policy, with a focus on ease of doing business, bridging the skills gap through training, a domestic investment initiative and reducing bureaucracy. Recently the move to a new goods and services tax creating a national unified market for the first time is a further example of growth oriented policies. This commitment to positive change also has implications at a structural level for the economy and the sectors that are likely to benefit.
Positioning defensively in Europe with yield premium intact and more sustainable dividends
Part one of our European index rebalance articles highlighted an investment case for our Eurozone Quality Dividend Growth and Europe Small Cap Dividend strategies. In part two we now explore the valuation, style and country/sector opportunities for WisdomTree's Equity Income and Export-Tilted strategies.
Team Abe 3.0: From a new cabinet towards new policies
Prime Minister Abe has presented his new cabinet. It is Abe's third leadership team since becoming Prime Minister in December 2012 and, like his previous teams, it is dominated by close and trusted allies. Moreover, the key positions did not change—Aso stays as Finance Minister, Seko as Economics Minister, and Suga as Chief Cabinet Spokesman. I expect this new cabinet will present a next supplementary budget of around Y5trn by October, focusing on added support for women, families and elderly.
How to use ETPs to hedge fixed income portfolios
Fixed income has been at the heart of European investor portfolios for many years with average allocations in 2016 standing at 51%. Even in an environment of low or negative yielding domestic government bonds, overall allocations have remained high. Now Eurozone government bond investors are overwhelmingly focused on the risks relating to the end of quantitative easing and the potential for a rise in interest rates at some point in 2018.
Italian banks: favourable transformations
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.
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.
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
Jesper Koll
WisdomTree's Head of Japan
Vania Pang
Capital Markets and Investment Solutions, Index and Quantitative Investment, ICBC Credit Suisse Asset Management (International) Company Limited
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.