World Cup fever has struck money manager Payden & Rygel, with the Los Angeles-based firm looking at four matches between emerging markets countries as inspiration for its investment commentary.
The $80 billion manager has published four papers based on soccer games between Brazil and Mexico; Russia and South Korea; Colombia and Cote d'Ivoire; and Argentina and Nigeria.
Focusing on these markets' quests to attract fixed-income investors, has allocated each country a score from one to five, a so-called Payden Score, that it says captures each country's fundamental trajectory and informs the money manager's six-month forecasts.
For the latest match as Pensions & Investments went to press, Colombia vs. Cote d'Ivoire, favored the latter off the field. On the field was a different matter, with the final score Colombia: 2; Cote d'Ivoire: 1.