Insights Now – Details, episodes & analysis

Watch the video version on YouTube.  2020 and 2021 were banner years for the private equity market as fiscal and monetary stimulus boosted fundraising, deal and exit activity. More recently, however, macro uncertainty and higher interest rates have put a damper on the asset class, which is highly dependent on leverage. Still, better-than-expected economic growth has supported recent performance. As companies, particularly in the Technology sector, wait longer to IPO, private equity has become an increasingly important way to get exposure to the high growth potential of early-stage companies. For decades, investors have used private equity to supplement their public equity allocations, enhancing returns, reducing volatility and providing access to secular market trends.

Dr. David Kelly is joined by Ashmi Mehrotra, the Co-Head and Portfolio Manager within the Global Private Equity Group at J.P. Morgan Asset Management, to discuss the trends and investment opportunities she’s seeing in the asset class.

Time stamps: Introduction (00:00), Types of PE investments most focused on (1:00), Secondaries and Co-investments (1:32), Sectors and types of companies (6:59), Implications of slowing M&A and IPO activity (10:42), What dynamics are going to drive PE activity? (11:59)

Resources:

For more resources on Alternatives, visit our Guide to Alternatives and Principles of Alternatives Investing

Listen to the audio version of the Alternative Realities podcast: Apple Podcasts | Spotify

Subscribe to the Notes on the Week Ahead podcast for more insights from Dr. David Kelly: Apple Podcasts | Spotify

Watch the video version on YouTube.

So far, this U.S. election cycle has been nothing short of turbulent and a looming source of volatility for much of this year. With the summer now behind us and November quickly approaching, investors should more seriously consider the implications of the upcoming election, and the opportunities and risks that may arise from it. That is why for the 11th season of Insights Now, titled “The policy and investment implications of the U.S. election,” David and I will discuss topics at the forefront of this election season, and explore the impacts proposed policies could have on the markets and economy. We’ll cover a range of topics, from immigration and tariffs to taxes and Fed independence, so tune in to stay informed on what could drive volatility heading into November, and how you can better prepare your portfolio for a post-election world.

Over the past year and a half, surging immigration has helped boost labor supply at a time when U.S. demographic trends were sluggish and recession fears were elevated, providing a nice tailwind for the labor market and the economy more broadly. At the same time, immigration has caused significant stress for migrants and the communities that they arrive in, making the issue one of the most politically sensitive topics this election season. For our conversation, we will focus on the magnitude of the recent immigration surge, discuss how long it can continue and explore what it might mean for the economy and corporate profits moving forward.

To dive deeper into all this, Gabriela Santos, Chief Market Strategist for the Americas, will be co-hosting this season and will be joined by the usual host of the show, Dr. David Kelly, Chief Global Strategist here at J.P. Morgan Asset Management.

Resources:

For more resources on the U.S. elections visit our Election Insights hub

Subscribe to the Notes on the Week Ahead podcast for more insights from Dr. David Kelly: Apple Podcasts | Spotify

Watch the video version on YouTube. 

From Baby Boomers to Generation Z, each generation has faced their own unique set of investment challenges and opportunities during their lifetimes. While the bulk of wealth in the U.S. belongs to older generations, wealth amongst younger generations is growing rapidly, and they represent an increasingly important piece of the investment pie. As advisors prepare for the next generation of investors, the question of “how do, and how should, different generations invest?” has been top of mind. To help answer this question, Dr. David Kelly is joined by Jack Manley, Global Market Strategist for J.P. Morgan Asset Management.

For more insights visit our website here.

Watch the video version on YouTube.

A long cycle of U.S. equity outperformance over international equities has left investors wondering, “why add international stocks to a portfolio?” However, as the global economy has turned a corner, so have prospects for international equities, and many international markets have performed well in 2024 so far. In fact, more than half of the 50 top performing companies this year are located outside of the U.S. In addition to favorable valuations, an improving economic backdrop and positive fundamentals should highlight plenty of opportunities across the globe.

On this episode, Dr. David Kelly is joined by joined by Gabriela Santos, Chief Market Strategist for the Americas here at J.P. Morgan Asset Management, to share her views on the benefits of allocating internationally.

Watch the video version on YouTube. 

Most of this season is devoted to questions investors ask us about where to invest. However, given an increased focus on building tax efficient, transparent and flexible portfolios, we are also often asked, “How should I invest.” While traditional investment vehicles have made it difficult to reach all these objectives simultaneously, the emergence of actively managed ETFs are helping to reshape the investment landscape as we know it. While this technology is still relatively new, active ETFs are quickly becoming a critical piece of the investor toolkit.

For today’s episode, Dr. David Kelly is joined by Jon Maier, Chief ETF Strategist at J.P. Morgan Asset Management, to help us learn more about the history of active ETFs, and how they can be used to build stronger portfolios.

For our next season, we want to hear from you as we will be counting down the top 10 questions investors have concerning the economy, the markets and investing. Please provide suggestions here.

This episode concludes the ninth season of Insights Now and marks the end of our deep dive into the world of alternatives. As investors continue to face elevated valuations across equities and abnormal interest rate volatility, the case for investing outside of traditional markets is as strong as ever. Whether investors are searching for outsized returns, stable income or diversification, alternatives offer a solution that can achieve these outcomes, and we hope this season helped bring those opportunities to life.

For our final conversation this season, Dr. David Kelly is joined by Anton Pil, the Global Head of Alternatives at J.P. Morgan Asset Management. Anton sits in a very unique seat given he oversees our entire alternatives platform, so tune in to hear how he views the balance of risks and opportunities across the asset class.

For additional insights on alternatives visit our website here.

Watch the video version on YouTube.

Over the past year, investors have been inundated with negative reports of elevated mortgage rates and empty office buildings, weighing on their sentiment toward real estate investing. However, real estate comes in many shapes and sizes, and each sector has its own fundamentals and use cases in the portfolio construction process. In fact, while some segments may look more attractive than others, valuations across the asset class have reset as rates have climbed higher, and investors searching for diversification, steady income and inflation protection have an entirely new menu of opportunities to choose from. That said, after nearly a decade of suppressed interest rates, real estate investors may have to re-calibrate their approach for the return of a structurally higher cost of capital.

To share how he is approaching the market against the backdrop of higher rates, Dr. David Kelly is joined by Doug Schwartz, a Co-President and Portfolio Manager within our Real Estate Americas Platform. Doug has been with the firm since 2004 and has almost 30 years of industry experience across a range of functions, including transactions, asset management and risk management.

Watch the video version on YouTube.

Over the last decade, extraordinarily low interest rates have made it difficult for investors to generate income within portfolios. While rates have risen over the past two years, so has bond market volatility and a higher correlation between stocks and bonds has made the search for uncorrelated sources of income even more difficult. However, at the same time, infrastructure has built a strong track record of generating steady income while exhibiting low correlation to a traditional portfolio and less sensitivity to economic and market risks given the essential nature of the assets.

Against a backdrop of stretched valuations across risk assets and some uncertainty towards the outlook for monetary policy and inflation, there's no better time to discuss how investing in infrastructure can help build better portfolios. To share his views on the asset class, I'm joined by Nick Moller, an investment specialist and managing director within our Infrastructure investment group.

Watch the video version on YouTube.

Coming out of the pandemic. Fiscal and monetary stimulus provided support for fundraising deals and exit activity within the private equity market. Even as fiscal stimulus has waned and the Federal Reserve has tightened policy. Better than expected economic activity and earnings have supported recent performance. For investors looking to supplement their public equity allocations, private equity can help enhance portfolio returns, as it has done for multiple decades and provide exposure to rapidly growing companies at the forefront of key market trends and themes. That being said, private equity does have the drawback of lower liquidity, and higher interest may pose a threat to future returns.

For today's episode, Dr. David Kelly is joined by Stephen Catherwood, Co-head of our Private Equity Group with over 20 years of experience on the team. They dive deeper into the current balance of risks and opportunities in the private equity market.

Watch the video version on YouTube. 

Portfolio Managers from across J.P. Morgan Asset Management to help shed some light on the rapidly growing and increasingly important world of alternatives. These conversations will range from broad overviews of the entire opportunity set, to asset class-specific deep dives across private equities, private credit, real estate and more.

Since 1950, the classic 60/40 stock-bond portfolio has delivered a strong annualized return of 9.3%. However, with elevated valuations across U.S. equities and low bond yields relative to history, returns from public markets may be less impressive moving forward. That said, for those willing to venture outside of the classic 60/40, adding a sea of alternatives to a portfolio can meaningfully improve outcomes and enhance returns. Of course, there are many different types of alternative assets, each with their own distinct characteristics.

For investors, understanding how to leverage these alternative strategies can make the difference between falling short of your long-term goals and surpassing them. For today’s episode, Dr. David Kelly is joined by Pulkit Sharma, Head of Alternative Investment Strategy and Solutions here at J.P. Morgan Asset Management, to discuss the benefits of allocating to alternatives and the opportunities that he’s seeing across alternative asset classes.

For more resources, please visit the Guide to Alternatives.