Pension Wars
Rob Lovelace, Bridgewater, Diversification, Robinhood, & More
“In this business it’s easy to confuse luck with brains.”
— Jim Simons
Research
Bridgewater - Where Can Investors Find Geographic Diversification Today? (9 pages)
Bridgewater investigates which countries outside the U.S. are most beneficial from a diversification standpoint. They highlight China, Japan, Brazil & India as four countries that can be valuable diversifiers to a US-centric portfolio.
Morningstar - 2024 Diversification Landscape (52 pages)
Morningstar offers a deep dive into the diversification potential of several major asset classes. They look at how key asset classes performed in 2023, how correlations have changed, and the implications for portfolio building.
Facts & Figures
1 in 13 Americans have participated in a multi-level marketing business. Link
74% of active ETF assets are in the Top 10 issuers. Link
California, which accounts for 12% of the nation’s population, was home to 30% of all commercial foreclosures in March 2024. Link
Microsoft’s yearly data center spend for the next few years is more than that of the Apollo program. Link
"Robinhood customers traded about 119 million options contracts in February, a monthly record in the company’s disclosures going back to January 2021." Link
The ebb and flow of country market caps since 1975.
There are large valuation differences between countries around the world today.
Farmland risk and return characteristics. Link
Podcasts
Goldman Sachs Exchanges: Capital Group’s Rob Lovelace: Lovelace discusses the firm’s investment process and culture, how he’s thinking about macro trends, and his lessons for leadership. [4/2/2024 - 42 minutes] Apple | Spotify | YouTube
Resolve Riffs Investment: Jeff Weniger-Pension Wars: Why Everything is About to Change and How to Profit: Weniger explains the 'pension wars' concept & the potential for a domino effect in global equity markets. [4/12/2024 - 70 minutes] Apple | Spotify | YouTube
The Insightful Investor: #13 – Jim Haskel: Bridgewater, Diversification, Outlook: Haskel is a Portfolio Strategist, Head of Client Service and Editor of Bridgewater’s Daily Observations. He discusses his experience at Bridgewater, diversification and his market outlook. [3/26/2024 - 64 minutes] Apple | Spotify | YouTube
What Else Is Happening
Did you miss last week’s email?
Meb Faber spoke with Eric Crittenden and Jason Buck about asset allocation, diversification, trend-following and more.