Benchmark selection matters--even when indices seek to measure the same market segment, their risk/return profiles can differ.  Find out what's driving performance differences between the S&P SmallCap 600® and the Russell 2000.

Cheap stocks have been underperforming for the last 18 months, while expensive stocks are overperforming. Current value factor underperformance parallels the Tech Bubble and Global Financial Crisis, which comes as a surprise to many. QMA’s latest research discusses this extraordinary environment.

57% of American workers admit to financial stress, imperiling both their well-being and job productivity. With a data-driven approach, employers can assess the financial needs most relevant to their employees to design customized solutions to help improve their financial wellness.

The growing chorus of concern (and scrutiny) over the leveraged loan market has not gone unnoticed – but is it warranted? In this paper, we take a closer look at leveraged loans and how today’s market differs from pre-crisis times.

This paper explores how ETFs’ liquidity dynamics impact total cost of ownership (TCO), underscoring why investors need to look beyond a single period statistic when analyzing liquidity.

The defining characteristic of a target-date solution is its glide path—the level, slope and landing point of the equity allocation. This paper explains how we arrived at our glide path to further the understanding of design decisions on retirement outcomes.

As the market debates whether the recent Fed action is a mid-cycle adjustment or an easing cycle, we examine what we believe constitutes a more significant shift from counter-cyclical to pro-cyclical policy. 

ClearBridge research indicates that passive crowded securities, which have experienced strong inflows into passive ETFs and index funds, tend to exhibit significantly lower forward returns than passive uncrowded stocks. Systematically managing portfolio exposure to these securities should promote positive alpha. 

In order to address investors' desire for income, WisdomTree worked with Bloomberg Barclays to take a different approach to core fixed income. The Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Aggregate Enhanced Yield Index uses a rules-based approach to reallocate across subcomponents in the  Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Aggregate Index (Agg), seeking to enhance yield while maintaining a similar risk profile.

403(b) participants are less confident about retirement and are more likely to ask for help than their 401(k) counterparts. See our latest research for more insights into the needs and challenges of 403(b) plan sponsors and participants.

Impact investing is a rapidly growing sector to which institutional investors are increasingly deploying capital. In this paper, PGIM Real Estate describes how the sector is maturing, and examines the appeal of real estate in the context of impact investing

Should high yield investors go global? See how shedding the home-country bias in high yield offers improved potential for diversification and creates meaningful advantages for investors seeking a wider range of alpha sources.

Accommodative monetary policy has fostered an environment where yields on many traditional core and core plus strategies aren’t keeping pace with investors’ spending needs. More flexible, multi-sector fixed income strategies that can complement core and core plus mandates warrant consideration.

State Street’s 2019 Global Retirement Reality Report explores how employers and other retirement plan administrators across the globe see their role in defined contribution plan management, prioritize plan simplicity and look to support the next generation of retirement happiness. 

Applying a process designed for small pension risk transfer (PRT) transactions resulting from plan terminations to today’s large, discretionary transactions may produce suboptimal results for plan sponsors. Analysis by Athene suggests that ongoing price monitoring can drive improved outcomes.

Launched in 2018 just prior to the global financial crisis, the MSCI Minimum Volatility indexes’ behavior “out-of-sample” since launch, have led to adoption by a large number of asset owners. Here, we investigate changes in the indexes’ behavior before and after launch across regions. 

At State Street Global Advisors, we are committed to creating long-term sustainable value for investors. In 2018, we focused our efforts on three key sectors (retail, pharmaceuticals and materials) and five themes (climate risk and reporting, gender diversity, sustainability and long-term strategy, compliance with corporate governance principles and pay strategies). We also unveiled our groundbreaking ESG scoring system, R-FactorTM.