Articles written by
Martin Frenette
Mind the Gap
With age sometimes comes wisdom. The wisdom to understand that operating on principle alone is not enough and how sometimes, we do the wrong things for the right reasons or more simply put, how the ‘road to hell is often paved with good intentions’. Dodd Frank, the attempt by the…
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A mixed picture for low volatility names
Low vol as a factor has had a mixed year. It outperformed at the beginning of the year during the spikes in volatility in Q1 but gave quite a bit back as the market moved from defensives to cyclicals, basic materials and EM names. That being said, the headline numbers…
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China: too big to ignore, too scary to invest
In his unusual confident and open manner, Ronald Chan of Zeal Asset Management in Hong Kong approached the audience at the Notz Stucki summer conference in Geneva with a wry smile. ‘I don’t need a mic’ dismissing the attendants offer. “I’m sure everyone can hear me just fine.” We could…
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Portfolio managers beware: factor based ETFs and how they can be helpful
Breaking down your broad universe of food groups into their more basic elements and nutrients is now part of our daily habits. Checking labels for sugar, fat, carbs and protein content isn’t just the remit of Californian health freaks but something that is part of every shopper’s habit nowadays. Although…
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Andurand Capital @ Notz Stucki conference on 28 June 2016
« Trading floors the world over are littered with the bodies of those who tried to trade energy futures » the saying goes. I’ve heard it used recently regarding those who tried to short JGBs but most traders in the oil & gas business would agree. Remember Brian Hunter of…
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Market Research on Watches
Since the dawn of humanity, we’ve been fascinated with time. For our Neolithic ancestors who built Stonehenge by carrying 30 ton monoliths for hundreds of miles and assembling them in a semi-circle, it was actually a matter of life and death. Having the ability to tell with infinite precision the…
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Currency wars and helicopter money : a former central banker speaks
It was Milton Friedman who was the first to talk about ‘helicopter money’ and used the metaphor of a helicopter dropping dollars from the sky. In his model, Friedman was trying to create a simple link between money and inflation. Raising nominal demand this way would have a quick and…
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Paradigm shift in oncology drug development
The headlines made for grim reading. According to Cancer Research UK, in the US, 1 in 2 women and 1 in 3 men will develop cancer in their lifetime. Now, a similar rate has been reported in the UK, with a new study published in the British Journal of Cancer claiming 1 in…
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How hedge funds can help: 10 years of H-Worldwide Multi Strategy
The news that Calpers in the States and PFZW in Europe were pulling out of hedge funds did not come too much as a surprise considering how their portfolios fared. There were clearly specific issues regarding these two investors but as large allocators and opinion leaders in the market, there…
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Asian hedge funds have held their ground
Investing in Asia has always been fraught with dangers but also opportunities. For anyone following the markets of late, it’s been impossible not to formulate an opinion on China: everything from the meltdown in the A share market, to the slowdown of the economy, to the potential bubble in credit…
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