Fodder begins with two perspectives on the key takeouts from the 19th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party earlier this month - one from US-based Stephen Roach, and the other from two prominent Hong-Kong-based academics. The difference in perspective is very interesting, and especially pertinent to the long-term outlook for markets. Will Jackson then reviews two recent research studies that shed light on retirement income planning. And we bring you two more of the top-10 rated sessions from our recent Strategies Conference. In the first, MFS's Carol Geremia explores the link between organisational culture and investment outcomes. And in the second, Capital Group's Andy Budden argues that traditional country and sector allocations are not the way to build portfolios going forward.
- All the best for another great week's continuing education - Graham
P.S. Are you involved in any aspect of constructing diversified, multi-manager portfolios? Stand for more with CIMA certification (more knowledge, more skill, more competence)

QUOTE OF THE WEEK...

It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it. - Aristotle

LATEST...

Markets
China's contradictions
President Xi Jinping's political report, delivered on the opening day of China's latest Communist Party congress, was a high-impact event. Three conclusions from Xi's address are particularly important.
Stephen Roach, Yale University | More

Markets
Modernity with Chinese characteristics
Since President Xi Jinping's update at the National Congress of the CCP this month, commentators have furiously debated the theme of "China rising" and Xi's concentration of power in his own hands. They are missing the point.
Andrew Sheng & Xiao Geng | More

Strategies | Finology
Research Review: Financial ruin and biological age
Two recent research studies shed light on retirement income planning. The first proposes a two-step framework that avoids the pitfalls of shortfall probabilities. The second finds that people need to use both their biological age and chronological age to decide spending rates.
Will Jackson, Portfolio Construction Forum | 1.00 CE | More

Philosophy | Investing
Culture is at the heart of investment competitive advantage
Culture is at the heart of competitive advantage today - this is particularly the case for investment firms where people and their judgments are the chief assets.
Carol Geremia, MFS Investment Managemen | 0.25 CE | More

Markets | Strategies
Shifting global trade patterns open up new opportunities
Portfolio construction must stay relevant. While traditional country and sector allocations may have worked in the past, today's new environment requires a global and flexible approach.
Andy Budden, Capital Group | 0.50 CE | More

RECENTLY...

Investing
Backgrounder: Culture and investment performance
The relationship between organisational culture and relative performance has significant implications for active asset managers, given their dependence on effective collaboration and decision making.
Will Jackson, Portfolio Construction Forum | More

Finology
Another Nobel Surprise for Economics
The winner of this year's Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, Richard Thaler of the University of Chicago, is a controversial choice. For some in the profession, the idea that psychological research should even be part of economics has generated hostility for years.
Robert J. Shiller, Yale University | More

Investing
Research Review: Old chestnuts
Portfolio insurance - invented over 40 years ago - has experienced the renaissance that it very much deserves. Trend (momentum) investing dates back over 40 years, too - the success of which is traced back in this paper to over 100 years.
Ron Bird, University of Technology Sydney | 1.00 CE | More

Markets | Strategies
Index obsession is unhealthy and leads investors astray
Investing is simply deploying savings to generate returns, yet abstractions such as indices are creating unnecessary complexity. Nowhere in an effective investment process need there be any reference to the prospects for a market index.
Andrew Clifford, Platinum Asset Management | 0.50 CE | More

Markets | Investing
Valuation underpins the contrarian mindset
Many investors claim to follow a contrarian style. But it is important to distinguish between those who unthinkingly dismiss orthodox approaches, and those who meaningfully challenge them.
Stephen Anness, Invesco Perpetual | More

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