Blog Posts

The economic success or failure of a country is a complex issue. Productivity and structural reform play central roles in determining a nation’s economic progress, but factors such as cultural attitudes and economic inequalities also have substantial impacts. Let’s look at these factors and explore potential strategies for driving success in struggling economies.   Key […]

Economic growth is a fundamental aspect of a country’s prosperity and well-being. It allows for improved living standards, creates job opportunities, and fosters innovation. For traders and investors, economic growth – particularly changes in its discounted expectations – is one of the main drivers of asset prices at the broad asset class level (in addition […]

Emerging market equities are a popular option for traders and investors, given their higher potential. Known for its potential to offer higher returns compared to developed markets, the expected premium for investing in emerging versus developed equity markets is usually 1-3% per year. In other words, if you put your money in EM equities, over […]

China has experienced multiple cycles of its empire rising and declining – in what are known today as dynasties. By examining the political, social, and economic/financial underpinnings of these cycles, we can extract lessons for today’s investment landscape and global order. Chinese policymakers are also well-versed in their own history (and that of other ancient […]

The field of accounting is vast and comprises several specialized areas. Two prominent branches of this discipline are financial accounting and management accounting. While both stem from the same root, their objectives, users, and methodologies vastly differ.   Key Takeaways – Financial Accounting vs. Management Accounting Accounting comprises specialized areas, with financial accounting and management […]

Zillow, the prominent online real estate marketplace, attempted to venture into the home “iBuying” industry with an Automated Valuation Model (AVM) designed to purchase homes they perceived as undervalued. Using a robust dataset gathered over a span of time and an artificial intelligence-driven approach, they aimed to create a robust real estate buying model (officially […]

The global financial system is a complex network of financial institutions, markets, and instruments that enables the flow of capital and resources within a country as well as across international borders. This web of economic interactions facilitates trade, investment, and wealth distribution among nations. By connecting markets and economies, the global financial system plays a […]

Determining the net worth of a central bank is not as commonly done, as it might be for examining the finances of a company, individual, or fiscal government. After all, you generally can’t invest in a central bank – though the central banks of Belgium, Japan, Greece, Switzerland, and South Africa are all publicly traded. Unlike […]

Convexity is a measure of the curvature in the relationship between bond prices and bond yields. It demonstrates how the duration of a bond changes as the interest rate changes. This concept is particularly important in the context of zero-coupon bonds, which are bonds that do not pay interest during the life of the bond. […]

Though less understood than traditional directional trading strategies, multi-asset volatility arbitrage (MAVA) involves harnessing profiting from volatility in the markets. At its core, multi-asset volatility arbitrage is a strategy that relies on the volatility differentials of various asset classes. Below we look into the details of multi-asset volatility arbitrage, its benefits, risks, and how traders […]