Over de top

De vastgoedcertificaten hebben lang de zwaartekracht getrotseerd en hebben na een indrukwekkende koersrally de Bel20 return aandelenindex ver achter zich gelaten. Eind vorig jaar had ik het er al over dat de BRECS returnindex een stap terug zette. Woluwe Shopping (€1616), een zwaargewicht in de BRECS index, moest na een rally tot een exhuberant koersniveau tenslotte toch stoom afblazen.

Crédit Suisse Global Investment Returns Yearbook 2012

The "Crédit Suisse Global Investment Returns Yearbook 2012" was released last week, which deserves a rapid posting. The yearbook highlights three subjects:

The real value of money
Whoever is determined in thinking a research paper endorsed by a major financial institution can only by a Siren song supporting fiat currency, may need to reconsider.

Just a quote from the introduction:

With international efforts to avert recession, fears have grown about the monetary policy and debt overhang. Sentiment fluctuates between deflationary concerns and inflationary fears and the demand for safe-haven assets has surged. This article examines the dynamics and impact of inflation and examines how equities and bonds have performed under different inflationary conditions.

Currency matters

Investing in global equity rather than just domestically reduces portfolio volatility. Equities tend to outperform following periods of currency weakness, which suggests that more unhedged cross border exposure can be desirable at those times. Contrary to equity, cross border bond investment can add to portfolio risk primarily through currency exposure.

Measuring Risk Appetite

... attitudes towards risk oscillate periodically from over-exhuberance to excessive pessimism and back again. In Feb 1998, Crédit Suisse lauched the Global Risk Appetite Index ...

The MVGDXJ Junior gold mining index

Close to a year ago, I first pointed to this junior mining index used as a benchmark for Van Eck’s GDXJ junior mining ETF. See : A junior gold mining index. Back then, the index was managed by the German firm “4asset-management”. Recently Van Eck took over the index calculation. Its composition and time series are now revealed on Van Eck’s website… for those to whom an access is granted. Whereas initially the access policy seemed rather liberal, now it has become restricted to ‘finance professionals’ (which doesn’t include me as a blogger.) The present posting is therefore the final one on this topic.