Liquidity 2026 Outlook
The CIO’s view Deborah Cunningham, CFA Chief Investment Officer, Global Liquidity Markets, Senior Portfolio Manager, Executive Vice President, Federated Hermes, Inc. What’s your one contrarian view going into 2026? That the US Federal Reserve (the Fed) will remain independent. The Trump administration’s relentless criticism of Fed Chair Jerome Powell has led many to think the president […]
Fixed income 2026 Outlook
The CIO’s view Robert Ostrowski Executive Vice President, Chief Investment Officer What’s your outlook for 2026? Fixed income markets enter the new year with a surplus of unanswered questions. To be fair, 2025 answered some. A year ago, we expected a repeat of the post-2016 election environment, with a combination of a doveish-leaning Federal Reserve […]
Equities 2026 Outlook
The CIO’s view Stephen Auth, CFA Executive Vice President, Chief Investment Officer, Equities Could 2026 herald a new era for equities? Productivity gains, renewed economic growth, margin expansion and recently released ‘animal spirits’ – accompanied by benign central bank policy – are all driving global markets higher. Federated Hermes has upgraded its forward earnings outlook […]
Market Snapshot
An end to the US government shutdown
Closing the loop: Why circularity is now a strategic imperative
Yesterday’s idea, today’s solution The traditional, linear model of ‘take, make, dispose’ thrived in an era of cheaper materials and predictable supply chains. Today, heightened uncertainty, geopolitical tensions and supply chain shocks are forcing both companies and governments to reconsider the importance of resource efficiency. Enter the circular economy. The concept is not new, but […]
Yields look biased downward
Indications are that the US economy continues to expand – despite the short-term headwind of the government shutdown – spurred by consumer spending and strong business investment. Meanwhile, US Treasury yields remain choppy, moving marginally with each day’s shift in Fedspeak and market narratives. As we await resumption of official data releases, however, available signs still point […]
What is driving EM corporate debt outperformance?
Chartology
High contrast
The contrast between the Federal Reserve’s policy-setting meeting in September and the one that ended Wednesday is striking. In the former, Chair Jerome Powell seemed to have a jump in his step as he announced the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) had lowered rates by a quarter percentage point with only one, very expected, dissent […]
Can more analyst coverage help predict stock performance?
In 2016, academic researchers Charles M. C. Lee and Eric C. So found that companies with abnormally high analyst coverage outperformed those with abnormally low coverage. But why should something seemingly so simple make any difference, especially considering that a count of analysts doesn’t even consider whether that coverage is positive, neutral, or negative? If […]
MDT: Your questions answered
1. Why would an investor include MDT US Equity in a portfolio today? MDT US Equity is designed to perform across a wide range of market environments without relying on macroeconomic forecasts or style biases. The strategy intentionally avoids directional bets, aiming instead for consistent excess returns through diversified stock selection. This makes it a […]
