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Fine-tuning portfolios with active ETFs

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New and innovative technologies have disrupted industries time and time again, creating more efficient ways to reach desired outcomes. The financial services industry is no exception, and options for investing today look far different than they did 100 years ago. The exchange traded fund, or ETF, is one example of these technologies changing the ways that we invest. Investors may associate ETFs with passive management, but the recent growth of actively managed ETFs is challenging that assumption. For today’s episode, Dr. David Kelly is joined by Bryon Lake, Global Head of ETF Solutions at J.P. Morgan Asset Management, to discuss how investors are using active ETFs to harness the tools of active management in a complex investment environment.

The world of alternative investing

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In this episode, we dive into alternative assets. Alternatives have seen incredible growth in the last decade, and have provided new strategies for investing in public and private markets, as well as better ways to generate alpha, income and diversification in traditional stock and bond portfolios. There are many kinds of alternative assets, and all have specific benefits and risks that require investors to understand each of them individually. Alternatives have also become much more accessible, and the growth of their overall asset size increasingly means that all investors—regardless of whether they’re actually invested or not—need to know what is happening in alternative markets.

For this conversation, Dr. David Kelly is joined by Anton Pil, Global Head of Alternatives, who has led the impressive growth of the alternatives platform at J.P. Morgan Asset Management.

For more insights on alternatives, visit our website here. 

Back to school on the U.S. economy

As we wrap up our summer series, Market Movers, Dr. David Kelly is joined by Michael Feroli, Chief U.S. Economist for the JP Morgan Investment Bank, to dive into the outlook for the U.S. economy and the Federal Reserve (Fed). Inflation has continued to moderate and economic data has proved resilient since the Fed’s July meeting, raising hopes for a soft-landing. Meanwhile, stock markets have continued to fare much better with investor sentiment resembling the start of a new bull market. For investors, many questions remain before we can call an “all-clear” on the economic outlook, and looking beyond the cycle, more structural changes may define long-term implications for the pathway of rates, growth and inflation. In this episode, two of JP Morgan’s most prominent thought leaders sit down to tackle many of these questions.

The outlook for real estate

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While the broader economy has remained resilient this year, the real estate sector has faced its fair share of headwinds. Higher mortgage rates and home prices have weighed on the residential sector and tighter lending conditions following the regional banking crisis have created a challenging backdrop for commercial real estate. Additionally, it remains unclear whether pandemic-induced disruptions are merely temporary road-bumps, or the beginnings of a new “regime” within real estate.

For today’s episode, Dr. David Kelly is joined by Dave Esrig, a Portfolio Manager at J.P. Morgan Asset Management, to discuss the trajectory of the real estate market.

Investing for the next generation

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For our second episode of Market Movers, Dr. David Kelly, Chief Global Strategist, is joined by Jack Manley, Global Market Strategist, to discuss the next generation of investors. They dive deep into how this younger demographic is shaping the investment environment and driving key themes in the markets today.

For more resources on investing for the next generation please reach out to your J.P. Morgan representative and visit our website here.

The economic implications of generative AI

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Artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, particularly generative AI, appear likely to revolutionize the way we work, innovate and create. This disruption can have significant economic implications, with the most significant likely to be accelerating labor productivity, and thus economic activity, after years of stagnation.

In the first episode of our summer series Market Movers, Dr. David Kelly, Chief Global Strategist, is joined by Stephanie Aliaga, Research Analyst, and Michael Albrecht, Global Strategist on the Multi-Asset Solutions Team, to discuss the broad range of implications AI may have on labor markets, economic growth and the future investment environment.

As the importance of and attention to AI continue to grow, we are working hard at J.P. Morgan Asset Management to share our insights on the many questions regarding this technological wave. Please stay tuned for more insights by visiting the Market Insights homepage.

The bond’s eye view

As we conclude this season, which we entitled a Bond’s Eye View of the world, a lot of core arguments for adding fixed income at the start of the year still remain in place. So far, the Fed has continued to hike rates but they may, finally, be at the end of their tightening regime, and if we are at peak rates, that means now is the time for investors to lock in yields before they fall. Bonds could also provide portfolios with important diversification properties as we eye this next downturn.

So, as investors take a closer look at their cash and bond holdings, we hope this season has helped shed light on the different opportunities within bonds, and how to think about duration, credit and income within portfolios. To wrap up our last episode, Dr. David Kelly is joined by Bob Michele, CIO and Head of our Global Fixed Income, Currency and Commodities Group at JP Morgan Asset Management, for a conversation on his outlook for the economy, the Fed, and ultimately, bond markets. 

Finding income for global investment portfolios

In today's episode, Dr. David Kelly is joined by Phil Camporeale, portfolio manager in our Multi-Asset Solutions group at JP Morgan Asset Management. Phil manages portfolios with a global opportunity set, and in doing so is actively making decisions on how to allocate the pieces of the pie within portfolios. What's the optimal mix of stocks versus bonds? And then how do you allocate within those sleeves? Where can you get the best bang for your buck in terms of returns, while also managing risk in portfolios amidst an uncertain macro outlook? These decisions largely depend on relative valuations, the outlook for interest rates and growth, and the relative attractiveness of yields. In this episode, we’ll hear form Phil on how he’s shifting the dials in portfolios right now, and the slice he's allocated to fixed income.

The muni landscape heading into a downturn

After significant monetary tightening over the last year, the Federal Reserve has now hiked rates all the way up to a range of 5-5.25%, but this tightening cycle may finally be at a close. With elevated risk of a near-term recession, markets are now expecting the Fed to pivot to rate cuts before the end of the year. For investors, an environment where economic conditions are looking precarious, and rates may soon be headed downwards, an active approach towards fixed income exposure is particularly important. On today's episode, we're going to focus on municipal bonds, which may be an effective way for investors to access high-quality and attractive tax-exempt yields in portfolios, particularly when heading into a downturn. To discuss this, Dr. David Kelly is joined by Richard Taormina, a portfolio manager for several municipal bond strategies here at JP Morgan Asset Management.

For more insights on the Guide to the Markets, visit the link here. ​

Credit vs. Duration, where should you spend your risk budget?

So far this year, investors have had to contend with the implications of a regional banking crisis, a still-hawkish Fed, and rising expectations for a near-term recession. With economic risks elevated, the challenge for debt investors is to strike the right balance between risk and return in portfolios, while maintaining a focus on credit quality. These two risks – interest rate risk and credit risk – can have important implications for bond performance in an environment where the Fed may soon pivot to rate cuts, but likely in response to a U.S. recession. On today's episode, Dr. David Kelly is joined by Andrew Norelli, Portfolio Manager for several multi-sector fixed income strategies here at J.P. Morgan Asset Management, to dive into the outlook for the economy and interest rates, and what this all means for striking the right balance between credit and duration in fixed income portfolios.