Resolving the Puzzle
To make sense of today’s market conundrum, remember that things could have been worse than they are, and that investors are more defensive than they appear.
Is the Consumer Cracking?
News from the consumer sector reveals intriguing trends, as well as the importance of credit and security selection in today’s complex market environment.
The Many Facets of Japanese Investing
(29:48) Given Japan’s unique macroeconomic backdrop, what can this market offer to its investors?
International Small Caps: Quality Plus Quantity
Screening for quality in international small caps is important, but what sort of “quality” should we look for, and can we find it without narrowing down our choice too much?
Private Markets in Volatile Times
Recent market turbulence provides yet another example of how private equity managers have improved their ability to weather volatile conditions.
A Tale of Two Indices
How an “optical illusion” might be making the S&P 500 look more expensive, and better-performing, than it really is.
The Case for Private Credit in Insurance Portfolios
An ever-expanding menu of private credit strategies can offer insurers the potential for attractive risk-adjusted returns.
What ‘Data-Dependent’ Feels Like
As central banks become more “data-dependent,” will monetary policy become less predictable and markets potentially more volatile?
Trip Hazards
The U.S. debt ceiling is just one of a long list of obstacles waiting to trip up markets, and there is very little opportunity cost for remaining cautious.
The True Meaning of Sustainable Investing
(19:50) How can investors approach sustainable investing in today's investment landscape?
Institutional Investor: America’s Top Asset Management Firms
Institutional Investor published their list of America’s top asset management firms, according to the companies owned by them. We are proud to announce that we were ranked within their top 10 list. See the full publication and details below:
Proxy Voting: Engagement Matters
As we kick off our latest NB Votes campaign, we look at what detailed bottom-up knowledge brings to the process, and what can happen when it’s absent.
Paid to Be Patient
It may be time to plan the journey back to risk, but not yet time to act—peak rates could still be disruptive, and they pay investors for proceeding carefully.
Are Agency Mortgages a Home Run?
Why we think recent banking-sector stress has made already attractive U.S. mortgage securities even more keenly valued.
Insurance-Linked Strategies State of the Market 2023
(4:23) Peter Miller, Senior Vice President on the Insurance-Linked Strategies team, discusses the current dislocation in the Insurance-Linked Securities market and what this could mean for investors.
A Sharp Turn
Risk/reward for many fixed income sectors has been shifting.
SMAs are here to stay among Japanese LPs
Japanese institutions have continued to utilize separately managed accounts, or SMAs, to gain exposure to private equity.
A New ‘Impossible Trilemma’?
Can we lower government debt, sustain positive real rates and finance the transition to a low-carbon economy?
Economic and Market Review: Continue to Recommend Defensive Positioning, Focus on Quality
What happens when the lowest interest rates in 400 years meet the fastest hikes in 100?
As Credit Goes, So Goes the Economy
Credit is the lifeblood of the economy, and the credit system just had a heart murmur.
Private Credit: An All-Weather Asset Class
As private-credit markets continue to expand in size, choice and sophistication, we believe they should play an important role in well-diversified investment portfolios.
Neuberger Berman Private Markets: Q4 2022 Preliminary Valuation Summary & Analysis
(9:14) Doug Manor, Managing Director, Neuberger Berman Private Markets, provides an overview of private equity markets and an outlook based on trends in the marketplace.
Turning, Not Re-Turning
It makes sense to prepare for the turning point in this cycle—but not by returning to the winners from the last cycle.
The Deal or No Deal of Event-Driven Investing
(19:48) Exploring the nuances of event-driven investing in today’s markets, we attempt to answer: how do the deals get made? And what happens when they don’t?
The More Things Change, Part II
Banking stresses may have tightened conditions enough for policymakers to pause their hiking cycles indefinitely.
Simply Put(Writing)
PutWrite strategies can improve the risk-return efficiency, liquidity, flexibility and cost-effectiveness of investor portfolios.
Silicon Valley Bank: Market Reaction and Implications
In this bulletin, we provide our view of the events of the last week and their implications for the bank sector.
At the Crossroads, Seeking Direction
Faced with historically inverted yield curves, unbalanced equity markets and economic conditions unseen for 40 years, investors are agonizing over their next steps.
The Chatbot Phenomenon
(18:58) Could chatbots and artificial intelligence take over? Or simply change the way we work?
ESG: Making Sense of the Mudslinging
What ESG, sustainable investment and impact investment mean at Neuberger Berman, and how they are consistent with active management and the diverse needs of our clients.
Commodities: From Destocking to Restocking
The micro and macro factors weighing on commodities since last summer are starting to reverse—and secular tailwinds are building.
NASDAQ-100 Index Call Writing Overlays
Monetizing Low-Cost Basis Stock Positions while Preserving Long-Term Stock Alpha
Natural Catastrophes in Today’s Climate
(18:40) Hurricane Ian was the most expensive weather disaster in 2022, how could the ILS asset class help mitigate these losses?
Politics, Deficits and the Debt Limit
We firmly believe that Congress will ultimately raise the debt limit, but it’s worth remembering that political drama affects markets.
Merger Arbitrage Investing: When Deals Fall Through
Why we believe a recent failed acquisition is a reminder to think twice about systematic approaches to merger arbitrage.
Equity Opportunities After Easy Money
Fourteen years of rock-bottom interest rates helped fuel a passive-indexing revolution. At Neuberger Berman, we believe we’ve entered a new economic regime that, in our view, calls for even more thoughtful and selective active management.
Non-Investment Grade Defaults: Up From the Lows, but Contained
With defaults rising off of all-time lows, but likely remaining well below recession norms, we remain constructive on high yield and non-investment grade credit.
Funding the Future
(11:40) We explore how investors can use an “in it for the long haul” mindset.
Japanese Small Caps May Hop in the Year of the Rabbit
Despite their recent outperformance, we believe Japanese small caps have further room to run in 2023 and beyond. In this report, we highlight a few catalysts that could support earnings growth within this relatively under-researched asset class.
The More Things Change
Has recent strong data changed the fundamental economic and market outlook, or just the timeline?
NB Votes: The 2022 Proxy Season
In this challenging economic environment, we believe that quality corporate governance is crucial to creating shareholder value—and that active investment managers have a vital role to play on behalf of their clients.
Central Banks Tighten, Markets Loosen
While some pessimism has lifted from central bank messaging, we still think the market may be hearing only what it wants to hear.
Practical Implications of the New Regime
You’ve pinned down your economic and market outlook, but what does it imply for your investment strategy—and how much of that is realistic?
The Investors Have Left the Building
Is money rushing to exit from non-traded real estate because there is more attractive value in listed real estate?
Navigating Secondaries Amid Choppy Markets
(23:37) As we continue to provide insight into diversifiers across all asset classes, we explore how Private Equity Secondaries have evolved since 2020, and what could be ahead for the asset class.
A Delayed Reckoning
Equity markets had momentum coming into 2023, but has the economic data now become too bad for investors to ignore?
Economic and Market Review: Key Considerations For Equity Investors
After rising interest rates, persistent inflation and geopolitical turmoil pounded equity investors in 2022, we believe macroeconomic indicators offer equity investors little to cheer about in the first quarter of 2023.
A Peak That Persists
We think sticky services inflation paired with a moderate slowdown will enable central banks to maintain higher rates for longer.
From Policy Risk to Recession Risk
Markets have rallied, but the Asset Allocation Committee expects volatility to persist amidst slowing growth and uncertain paths for inflation and central bank policy.
Reducing Altitude
As inflation recedes, focus on quality and security selection.
The Portfolio Doctor Is In
(30:31) Now that a new year is upon us, we explore the tactics of seeking to craft attractive portfolios as we continue to see a path of volatility in 2023.
Macro Versus Micro
Top-down and bottom-up forecasts are increasingly diverging, and we think 2023 will be largely about how these divergences resolve themselves.
BBBs in the ‘Old Normal’
A key investment-grade sector retains its appeal, but selectivity may be important.
Outlook 2023
The leaders of our investment platforms welcome the New Year with their views for 2023.
Solving for 2023: How the Tables Have Turned
(41:20) As we conclude 2022, we turn the tables to evaluate what could lie ahead for markets in 2023.
What Goes Up Must Come Down…Right?
(27:02) As inflation grows more apparent across the globe, we explore if there’s an end in sight, and how we see it impacting both Equities and Fixed Income investments.
Escape From Flatland
A two-dimensional, return-and-volatility view of investments may not allow you to see important risks.
Undercapitalization Slows Secondaries Activity
While LPs and GPs cry out for liquidity, secondary funds are unable to recapitalize quickly, creating pent-up demand that bodes well for the future.
COP27: Treating the Symptoms, Not the Disease
In many respects, COP27 was neither feat nor flop.
A Tale of Two Cities
Why we think the resilience of the U.S. economy is proving to be a real conundrum for investors.
Broadening Access to Private Equity
In a recent conversation with Private Equity International, Managing Directors Maura Reilly Kennedy, Peter von Lehe, and Jose Luis Gonzalez Pastor discuss newer solutions available to individual investors to access private equity and important considerations for both individuals and managers
Private Equity in the Economic Headwinds
Against the current economic headwinds, concerns about sourcing, financing, managing and selling private equity assets are understandable—but might these concerns be obscuring the underlying resilience of the asset class?
Bank of Japan: The G-10 Outlier
(20:13) As economies around the world are dealing with the effects of inflation, we evaluate an outlier with a particularly dovish stance…
Cryptonite
The FTX collapse is a blow to the idea of finance industry disruption and a potential source of volatility, but we think systemic contagion into broader financial markets is unlikely.
The Rise of GP-Led Secondaries
As private equity investors scramble for liquidity in this volatile climate, more general partners are orchestrating transactions in the secondary market.
2022 Global Corporate Credit ESG Engagement Report
During the past year our established relationships with issuers in developed and emerging markets enabled us to have meaningful engagements with a number of management teams. We engaged on key ESG issues such as climate change, community relations, and human capital management.
An Emerging Opportunity
If you are one of the many investors looking positively at high yield bonds, you might want to consider emerging markets debt, too.
Hardening Borders: Opportunities in Security, Health and Trade
Seeking the potential beneficiaries of a new age of deglobalization and insecurity.
The Asset Allocation Facts Have Changed
Why we think this year’s dramatic rise in bond yields, together with recent signs that inflation may have peaked, demands a radical re-think of asset allocation.
Shooting Down the Hawks
As the U.S. Federal Reserve’s messaging gets blurrier, markets are focusing on the data.
Solving for 2023: Back to the "Old Normal"
Our senior investment leaders discuss their market and investment themes for the coming year.
Divergences and Pivots
The exuberant response to last Thursday’s inflation data suggests markets are primed for the “pivot”—but could they be extrapolating too far?
Could Liquid Alternatives Provide Answers?
(15:21) As liquidity remains a key area of focus for investors, particularly amid a volatile backdrop, what opportunities can be explored across more alternative investment categories?
COP27: A Chance to Reset
Broken promises, fraught debates and a dire economic and geopolitical backdrop are precisely why we believe COP27 is so important.
Key Considerations When Navigating the Net-Zero Transition
What investors should keep in mind when decarbonizing their portfolios
Is This ‘Nightmare on Wall Street’ Coming to an End?
Do corporate earnings disappointments signal a weaker economy and easing inflation pressures, which could end this scary market—or are there more twists to come?
Building on Infrastructure Investing
(12:04) As governments seem to be finally getting serious about infrastructure spending, we explore some considerations of investing in this space.
An Eventful Time for Event-Driven Investing
In a tough market environment, we believe company management teams and boards have to be more creative, daring and decisive; seeking event-driven opportunities is all about finding those taking the most impactful action.
Thinking Strategically About Commodities
A laggard over the past decade, commodities appear, in our view, poised for continued strength in the years ahead.
Tighter Conditions Begin to Squeeze the Economy
As the economy slows, an epic climb in short-dated rates and bond yields appears to have shocked investors into accepting the prospect of stickier inflation, but they still seem reluctant to price for substantially lower earnings.
Schooling the Sovereigns
Bond markets appear to be disciplining policy inconsistencies, both within sovereigns and among them.
Making Sense of Markets and Policy Change
(16:00) From the Fed’s rate hikes to the BoE’s historic fiscal stimulus package, how should investors make sense of policy actions occurring around the world right now?
Be Wary of Bear Market Rallies
We may want to be optimistic about inflation and rates, but that only delays the hard questions we are likely to face as we enter the new economic era.
Policy Stays in the Crosshairs
Despite volatility, the basic storyline of inflation and the Federal Reserve should continue to drive market behavior.
Economic and Market Review: Key Considerations for Equity Investors
We put out a cautious Equity Market Outlook three months ago, and after a quarter of worsening economic data and inflation trends we are now even more focused on low beta and high earnings quality.
Policy Excesses and Market Discipline
We are seeing bond investors standing up for themselves against policymakers, and while equity investors are experiencing pain from this struggle, the end result may be a more sustainable, fundamentals-based market.
Investing at a Crossroads
(23:19) How could asset allocators change their approach with the goal of achieving compelling outcomes amid today’s investment landscape?
Investing at a Crossroads: Three Themes for Today’s New Challenges
As 40-year tailwinds turn to headwinds, we distill an era of sometimes bewildering change into three themes and a new investment playbook.
Navigating the Emerging Markets Default Wave
Despite record defaults, stresses remain relatively low for the asset class overall.
A High-Yielding Haven
As an ever-more-aggressive rate-hiking cycle rocks the financial markets, might corporate credit offer a space that is both remunerative and relatively calm?
Managing the Risks of a Low-Carbon Portfolio
We recognize that much of the world still runs on fossil fuel. However, we firmly believe investors can construct portfolios that substantially reduce their carbon footprints while retaining exposure to all sectors—including energy.
Hold the Inflation Victory Lap
Inflation still appears to be the biggest source of potential volatility in the market, and we think that’s because it will remain the dominant economic story for the foreseeable future.
Inside the Psyche of the Connected Consumer
(19:35) As generational populations shift, what is going on in the psyche of today's digitally native consumer?
The Climate Has Changed for Infrastructure
Following a year of starkly revealed vulnerabilities in water, energy and supply-chain assets, some game-changing legislation suggests that governments are finally getting serious about infrastructure investment.
The Case for Unconstrained Multi-Asset Portfolios: Navigating the Challenges of Public-Private Investing
As investors navigate the challenges of integrating public and private markets we believe a single, unconstrained multi-asset portfolio can deliver a more efficient and opportunistic solution.
The Uncertainty May Be Worse Than the Slowdown
We do think the onset of recession is a time to tread carefully, but it could also be a time of opportunity for equity investors.
How the Space Economy Is Achieving Liftoff
(17:04) As we take off further into the Space Age, we explore the growth potential and opportunity set within this quickly evolving sector.
Euro Parity: Threshold or Boundary?
The euro is subject to enormous economic forces that could equally be very positive for the currency or the cause of an even greater fall.
Inside TaxM™: Realizing Capital Gains vs. Managing Tracking Error
When funding a TaxM™: portfolio, it’s critical for the investor to understand the tradeoff between realizing capital gains (and having a subsequent tax burden) and maintaining a particular tracking error to the selected benchmark.
You May Be Generating Tax Credits Without Realizing It
Actively managing equity portfolios for tax efficiency not only aims to maximizes tax credits—it may reveal tax credits you didn’t know you already had.
The Case for Private Credit in Insurance Portfolios
An ever-expanding menu of private credit strategies can offer insurers the potential for attractive risk-adjusted returns.
Paid to Be Patient
It may be time to plan the journey back to risk, but not yet time to act—peak rates could still be disruptive, and they pay investors for proceeding carefully.
Economic and Market Review: Continue to Recommend Defensive Positioning, Focus on Quality
What happens when the lowest interest rates in 400 years meet the fastest hikes in 100?
Economic and Market Review: Key Considerations For Equity Investors
After rising interest rates, persistent inflation and geopolitical turmoil pounded equity investors in 2022, we believe macroeconomic indicators offer equity investors little to cheer about in the first quarter of 2023.
From Policy Risk to Recession Risk
Markets have rallied, but the Asset Allocation Committee expects volatility to persist amidst slowing growth and uncertain paths for inflation and central bank policy.
Outlook 2023
The leaders of our investment platforms welcome the New Year with their views for 2023.
Solving for 2023: Back to the "Old Normal"
Our senior investment leaders discuss their market and investment themes for the coming year.
Tighter Conditions Begin to Squeeze the Economy
As the economy slows, an epic climb in short-dated rates and bond yields appears to have shocked investors into accepting the prospect of stickier inflation, but they still seem reluctant to price for substantially lower earnings.