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Advisor Perspectives
Insights into the world of high- and ultra-high net worth investing
February 17, 2009- Vol 3, Issue 7
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You can ignore the media hype that state issuers may default on municipal bond obligations
and that these bonds are at risk of
downgrades. Tom Doe, founder and CEO of Municipal Market Advisors, explains why
default risk is minimal and where advisors should look to find value in the municipal bond markets.
Marginal players will disappear
as the banking industry
undergoes radical transformation, as will traditionally highly profitable
product centers. But some banks
will prosper and emerge stronger. We thank Janus for their sponsorship and for
providing our readers with this research.
According to one of the world's leading experts on retirement investing, Zvi Bodie, there is only one safe place to put
your money. Bodie identifies this product, and goes on to
explain his preferred way of adding risk
to enhance returns.
The events of 2008 damaged investors'
psyches in two important respects. Many investors lost confidence and trust in their advisors and
financial institutions, and they grew skeptical
of the long term merits of investing in the stock market. Dan Richards puts forth a 5-part plan for a conversation between advisors and clients to rebuild
confidence.
More articles below:
Great price tags on a number of
investments are the silver lining of the current recession,
according to James Grant, founder of
Grant's Interest Rate Observer. Just like in the Great
Depression, Grant says there are very attractively priced opportunities in
today's markets.
Rob Arnott responds to Michael Edesess' claims in last week's issue about fundamental indexing. Arnott says
Edesess changed his core assumptions or otherwise materially altered his
arguments in six places, and offers a
bottle of wine to any reader that identifies all six.
We look back at the performance
of the most popular funds in the Advisor Perspectives universe in
the fourth quarter of 2008. Foreign
equity funds consistently outperformed their benchmark, but
results for other asset classes were far less impressive.
A reader responds to our article several weeks ago about technical analysis, and says we missed the point. Technical
analysis is more an art form than a
science, and cannot be evaluated from the perspective of a
rational scientist.
Lastly, we highlight submissions to Advisor
Market Commentaries.
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Investors should be very comfortable with muni bonds, says Tom Doe.
Doe's firm, Municipal Market Advisors, is the leading independent muni bond
research firm, serving over 200 clients. In our interview, Doe
explains how default, ratings, and headline risk are affecting current bond
valuations.
Read the article
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The
Changing Financial Landscape: Potential Implications for the Banking
Industry
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The weakness in
the banking industry continues to contribute to the current financial
crisis. In this Research Insights Brief,
Janus reviews some key causes of the financial crisis and then presents
their views on some of the potential implications for the banking industry,
which was among the hardest-hit.
Read the article
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Zvi
Bodie on the Future of Retirement Products
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"Saving is all about insuring and not about speculating," according
to Zvi Bodie, a professor of finance at Boston
University
and leading authority on retirement planning. Bodie identifies the
one product that offers safety for today's investors, and how returns can
be enhanced with another product which has gained popularity in - of all
places - France.
Read the article
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A
Five-part Conversation to Rebuild Market Confidence
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Shying away from investing in equities will make it impossible for many
investors to achieve their long-term goals, according to Dan Richard. The
primary job for many advisors today is to help their clients understand
that, and his step-by-step plan shows how advisors can have this
conversation with their clients.
Read the article
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James
Grant: A Positive Lesson from the Great Depression
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Jim Grant is bullish on gold and is betting on inflation. In his talk
for the Boston Security Analysts Society, he identifies an oil service
company that is undervalued, and why he believes many more opportunities
like this exist in the current market.
Read the article
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Rob
Arnott's Rebuttal to Michael Edesess
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Rob Arnott, Chairman of Research Affiliates and a leading proponent of
fundamental indexing, responds to last week's article by Michael
Edesess. Arnott says Edesess cannot break free from the classic view
of efficient markets and that the mathematics of fundamental indexing more
accurately models the real world than do traditional theories.
Read the article
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Q4
2008 Performance among the Most Popular Mutual Funds in the Advisor
Perspectives Universe
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The Advisor Perspectives Universe consists of approximately $50 billion in
assets managed by advisors on behalf of high net worth investors. In this
installment of our regular quarterly analysis, we look at how the most
popular actively managed funds fared against their respective benchmarks.
Read the article
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Letter
to the Editor: In Defense of Technical Analysis
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Several weeks ago we wrote about MIT professor Andrew Lo's attempts to
legitimize technical analysis, arguing that Lo and his colleague had failed
to offer any conclusive evidence as to the merits of that discipline.
A reader responds to our article, asserting that technical analysis is more
of a subtle art form than a traditional science.
Read the article
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Highlights
from Advisor Market Commentaries
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Vitaliy Katsenelson says troubles in the Middle
East have important implications for US investors, and
that Exxon's troubled may be masked by the fact that it is the best-managed
oil company.
Read the commentary
World trade is falling off a cliff and European banks are in much bigger
trouble than US banks. John Mauldin is very clear about the
implications for investors.
Read the commentary
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Advisor
Perspectives
Box 380
Lexington, MA 02420
(781) 376-0050
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