American Century Investments Blog

The municipal asset class has historically been somewhat insulated from the effects of natural disasters. 2017 put that resiliency to the test as state and local governments dealt with hurricanes, floods and wildfires. While the municipal market was generally unscathed by these natural disasters—outside of the impact to Puerto Rico—we did not dodge the changes […] The post What to Expect From the Muni Market in 2018 appeared first on American Century Investments Blog » American Century...

I’ve been watching financial markets — in one way or another — for a long time. It’s hard to believe, but I’m now almost two decades into my career. That tenure provides enough experience to know things come in cycles. Early in my career, it was the tech bubble; now it’s FANG stocks — Facebook, Amazon, […] The post The Search for Bargains In Value Investing appeared first on American Century Investments Blog » CIO Insights.

Podcast Q2 2017 CIO Insights – Global and Non-U.S. Equity In the four-plus months since Donald Trump’s election, many investors have benefited from the “Trump Rally.” But, recently some have begun to question if the post-election run is ready to take a breather. Global Markets Rallying In the time since November’s election surprise, many global equity markets […] The post Riding on the Trump Rally, but Prepping for the Trump Reality appeared first on American Century Investments Blog »...

Podcast Q2 2017 CIO Insights – Fixed Income Global financial markets experienced several shocks last year, not the least of which was the election of President Trump and the resulting reflation expectation-fueled risk market rallies. We discuss the “Trump Bump” and its potential aftermath in our CIO Insights Introduction piece this quarter—“Risk-Market Rallies Meet Policy […] The post Reflections on Reflation – Why This Time Feels Different for TIPS appeared first on American Century...

Risk markets, including stocks and high-yield bonds, have rallied strongly on the pro-growth promises of Trumponomics—President Trump’s fiscal, regulatory, and trade policy proposals. But will that momentum continue as the realities of policy implementation and other challenges set in? What signals are we watching and what strategies are we pursuing as this transition occurs? Fed […] The post Risk-Market Rallies Meet Policy Implementation Realities appeared first on American Century...

Q1 2017 CIO Insights: U.S. Growth Equity – Mid & Small Cap Podcast In an uncertain environment, we believe it’s important to identify efficient companies that can withstand volatility and create their own pathways to growth. The presidency of Donald Trump presents investors with many unknowns in 2017. Proposals to cut taxes, increase government spending […] The post Achieving Growth Via Efficiency appeared first on American Century Investments Blog » CIO Insights.

Q1 2017 CIO Insights: Disciplined Equity Podcast An ocean of ink will be spilled trying to divine the Trump policy agenda for trade, international relations more broadly, taxes, regulations, what the election will mean for this or that sector, and so on. These are important questions, to be sure, and we will be monitoring events carefully. […] The post Lacking Clarity? Go with What You Know appeared first on American Century Investments Blog » CIO Insights.

Q1 2017 CIO Insights: Fixed Income Podcast As our Global Macro Strategy Team looks ahead to 2017, we believe the election of Donald Trump unleashed forces that are likely to push interest rates and inflation expectations higher in the U.S. The global picture is more mixed, though we generally believe that global growth and inflation are […] The post More Fed Rate Hikes, Fiscal Stimulus and Higher Inflation Expectations appeared first on American Century Investments Blog » CIO Insights.

Q1 2017 CIO Insights: Global and Non-U.S. Equity Podcast Several of the major events that rattled global markets this year continue to sow uncertainty as we head into 2017. Investors remain concerned about the long-term effects of Brexit and Donald Trump’s improbable victory in the U.S. presidential race. Besides catching pundits and pollsters off guard, […] The post Unexpected Outcomes Reinforce the Need to Consider Company Fundamentals appeared first on American Century Investments Blog...

Podcast Presenting a 2017 outlook is impossible without discussing Donald Trump’s victory, the Republican majority in Congress and what these developments could mean for the economy and markets. Unfortunately, much remains unsettled and could lead to significant market volatility as ramifications crystallize. Last quarter, we discussed political undertones and actions—populism and antiglobalization—that demonstrated discontent with […] The post 2017 Outlook: Preparing for Uncertainty and...

Q4 2016 CIO Insights: U.S. Growth Equity – Mid & Small Cap Podcast When one company acquires another, it can often produce positive inflection points in the new enterprise’s business fundamentals. A highly competent management team can transform a combined company into one that is more capable and has more to offer than the two […] The post Acquisition-Minded Companies Can Produce Game-Changing Results appeared first on American Century Investments Blog » CIO Insights.

Q4 2016 CIO Insights: U.S. Growth Equity – Large Cap Podcast Much of this edition of CIO Insights has been devoted to an election theme. While the presidential election is important, it has comparatively little influence on how we manage money day to day. Rather than electoral votes, we focus on dollar votes—that is, how […] The post Dollar Votes in the Large Growth Process appeared first on American Century Investments Blog » CIO Insights.

Q4 2016 CIO Insights: Disciplined Equity Podcast Electoral outcomes are important. Of course they are. But we don’t believe you should base your investment decisions on them. In this article, we discuss why we believe market uncertainty—electoral or otherwise—is best addressed in the context of an investment process that is objective, systematic, and disciplined. Investing […] The post Process Over Politics appeared first on American Century Investments Blog » CIO Insights.

Q4 2016 CIO Insights: U.S. Value Equity Podcast Typically, the presidential election cycle adds an extra layer of uncertainty to a market that can lead to an increase in volatility. New presidents in particular bring ambiguity in their policies and how those policies may or may not be implemented. Health care is currently a lightning […] The post Health Care Sector Vulnerable to Election Jitters appeared first on American Century Investments Blog » CIO Insights.

Q4 2016 CIO Insights: Global and Non-U.S. Equity Podcast While the run-up to any U.S. presidential election tends to increase uncertainty as well as market volatility, the outcome of this year’s election appears to be worrying the markets more than usual. Potential Impact This year’s presidential race could significantly affect government policies and, in turn, […] The post Global Markets at a Crossroads Leading Up to U.S. Election appeared first on American Century Investments Blog » CIO...

Q4 2016 CIO Insights: Fixed Income Podcasts Bond investors have enjoyed an extended run of positive performance. Because it’s been our experience that markets are inherently self-correcting, we’re weighing bond market risks as yields stay low and credit spreads stay narrow. What could change, and when? Our CIO Insights Introduction piece this quarter (Global Political, Emotional […] The post How and When Will Bond Conditions Change? appeared first on American Century Investments Blog »...

Q4 2016 CIO Insights: Asset Allocation Podcast This election-themed CIO Insights gives us the chance to weave together some key topics and ideas we’ve been writing about lately. First, making investment decisions based on the outcomes of votes or legislative processes is essentially a market-timing strategy. These strategies are incredibly hard to get right. Second, the […] The post Planning Beats Predicting appeared first on American Century Investments Blog » CIO Insights.

Q4 2016 CIO Insights Podcast An unusual combination of risk-on and risk-off behavior has pervaded the capital markets, reflecting, in part, uncertainties about the political and emotional undertones that triggered Brexit and could steer the outcome of the U.S. presidential election. Last quarter, we wrote about how global events are playing a greater role in driving all markets […] The post Global Political, Emotional Undertones Contributing to Unusual Market Behavior appeared first on...

Podcast The theme of this edition of CIO Insights is the effect of macroeconomic factors on U.S. markets. This recalls our discussion of several issues ago about four key economic developments likely to influence large-cap growth stocks in the coming years. Here we revisit these themes in light of events so far in 2016, though […] The post Four Key Macro Themes Revisited appeared first on American Century Investments Blog » CIO Insights.

Podcast The secular trends toward online shopping and off-price retailing are disrupting the space. As the new normal for retailers evolves there will be winners and losers—rewarding those with strong security-selection processes. Secular Trends Are Disrupting Retail Some might believe that macro factors, such as concerns about China’s economy, worries regarding Brexit and tensions over […] The post Separating the Winners from the Losers in Retail appeared first on American Century...