The US SMID revival: Why this quiet rotation matters
Valuations are attractive, but this time there’s more At the 14-year mark, the current outperformance cycle by US large-cap stocks over small cap is well past the historical 10-year average. US small and mid-cap (SMID) companies have been out of favour since the pandemic due to the high-interest rate environment, growing geopolitical tensions, recessionary concerns […]
Meet the Manager: MDT’s Kelly Patel
Video transcript What’s your role at Federated Hermes? My name is Kelly Patel and I’m the Portfolio Analytics Manager for the MDT team at Federated Hermes. I began working at MDT straight out of college, and I’ve spent my entire professional career here since. Throughout my career I’ve worked in a variety of analytical roles […]
Is global high yield a short duration market now?
The duration of the global high yield (GHY) market is below its long-term average and quite a distance from its peak. Figure 1 shows duration at around three years, which is by far the lowest it has ever been. This compares to a long-term average of just over four years. This 25% decline in duration […]
Which indices have surprised on the upside?
Chartology
360°, H2 2025
How not to be a deer caught in the ‘headlines’
The AI toolbox
Video transcript At MDT, we’ve been a big believer in AI and machine learning for a long time, and we have long integrated machine learning into our investment process. Our decision trees can be a powerful way to produce alpha forecasts while enabling us to understand and explain the rationale behind every trade. We believe that in making forecasts […]
When risk is underpriced, quality is all the more valuable
High yield is all about risk and reward – and lately risk isn’t being priced appropriately. We remain defensive in our high yield positioning for two reasons, one macro in nature while the other involves dynamics within the market itself. What they have in common is an underpricing of risk and a need to focus on […]
New name, same philosophy
(Re)introducing: Global SMID Equity Engagement*
The balancing act continues
The US Treasury market has been caught in a narrow range lately, confined by data portraying a resilient economy and some signs of tariff inflation passthrough that grabs the attention of a patient Federal Reserve (Fed). Current expectations are that the US economy continues to expand, albeit at diminished underlying rates as consumer spending growth has slowed, […]
What’s next for Asia ex-Japan?
Video transcript What is your outlook for the rest of the year for Asia ex-Japan equity? Our outlook for China for the rest of the year has been slightly complicated by what has happened year to date. At the beginning of the year, we were very bullish on China and Korea, and less so on […]
