Brad here. One of the hot topics in investing is sustainability—expressed as either socially responsible investing (SRI) or environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investing. Recently, major players have doubled down on their commitment to sustainability, although Commonwealth has been here for years. In this post, Peter Essele, vice president of investment management and research, gives a very good summary of what is happening—and what we are doing about it.

Brad here. One of the recent concerns about the economy has been the housing market slowdown. Housing involves not only home sales but also many ancillary activities (e.g., construction and financing). It is a significant economic actor in itself and a good indicator of how consumers feel overall. Housing is also at the center of many people’s economic decisions. In fact, I get more questions about housing than about anything else from employees here at Commonwealth. For today, Pete Essele has put together a good look at the current market and how it is likely to evolve over the next several months. Thanks, Pete!

Today's post is from Peter Essele, manager of Commonwealth's Investment Management and Research team.

Today's post is from Peter Essele, manager of Commonwealth's Investment Management and Research team. 

A little over a year ago, my colleague, Anu Gaggar, and I conducted a study for the Independent Market Observer. We examined the emerging markets and international asset classes through the lens of investor behaviors, noting at the time that many investors had shed these asset classes during 2016. They did so largely because they feared underperformance and higher volatility. We believed there could be negative consequences on portfolio returns from this decision, however, so we took a closer look.

Today, we're revisiting this topic to see whether investors have changed their minds since then, choosing to once again accept the risks of global diversification. And, if so, what might that mean for their portfolios going forward?

Today’s post is from Peter Essele, a manager on Commonwealth’s Investment Management and Research team.

Brad here. Today’s post is from Peter Essele, one of Commonwealth’s senior portfolio managers on the Preferred Portfolio Services^® Select platform. Peter has written here before about a number of investment issues. I think you will find his take on where markets are right now—with special attention to the VIX, which has been in the news a lot of late—is both timely and potentially important. Over to you, Pete.

My colleague and friend Peter Essele, portfolio manager here at Commonwealth, has again put together an interesting piece highlighting the gap that often exists between what investors expect and what the market gives them. Although it’s a bit technical, the point is very important given recent moves in interest rates and the ongoing search for yield by many investors.