In theory, banking jobs in Italy are going up in the world ahead of Brexit. After all, Goldman Sachs has said it wants to increase its Milanese headcount from 20 to 100 people in a new office near Duomo Cathedral. “Senior bankers” are reportedly being moved out of London to staff it. If you talk to people on the ground though, it’s all strangely quiet. Two Italian Goldman MDs, speaking on condition of anonymity, said last year’s statement has so far been more words than actions. They claim...

Regrets. Most investors have had a few, and this year’s currency volatility has been another reminder of how unexpected movements in the dollar – and the investor reactions this may trigger – can impact portfolios. Coming into 2018, there was a view that the dollar was likely to continue to weaken. A January 4th Reuters story pointed out that the dollar had just recorded its worst performance in 14 years in 2017, falling around 10%. The author noted experts expected that performance to...

There are many kinds of hedge fund strategies in the market. HFR, a leading hedge fund industry research group, tracks four major categories – Macro, Equity Hedge, Event Driven, and Relative Value – each with multiple sub-strategies focused on everything from stocks and bonds to emerging markets and credit arbitrage. And, of course, every fund manager will execute these strategies differently based on his or her own research and views of the market. Regardless of the style of strategy or...

October reminded us that markets can be volatile, with the S&P 500 dropping -6.84%, its worst one-month drop since September 2011 (which posted a -7.03% loss). It’s important to note, however, that the circumstances in 2011 and 2018 are quite different. In 2011, there were contagion concerns of the European sovereign debt markets, the U.S. credit rating was downgraded, and the U.S. and global markets were in the doldrums struggling to recover market drawdowns and economic stagnation. While...

On the backend of the steep October drawdown, November started off with the uncertainty of the midterm elections. While there were expectations of a “Blue Wave”, the Democrats took the House and Republicans held the Senate. While the split legislature may cause some frictions regarding domestic policy, both parties seem to be on the same page regarding improving global trade policies. The Fed, as expected, kept rates unchanged in November raising the likelihood of a 4th rate hike in December....