Asset Allocation Outlook – An update into year end

Joachim Fels, Global Economic Advisor, Scott Mather, CIO U.S. Core Strategies, and Olivia Albrecht, ESG and Fixed Income Strategist, Global, discuss our economic outlook across regions and markets, and why we believe that solid growth this year is a near certainty, but the causes of the stronger expansion are more uncertain and could affect its durability.

Five key questions answered about markets today, including whether the U.S. dollar will continue to weaken and if we’re entering a bear market in bonds.

With key risks on the horizon, portfolio defense may be more important than ever. The portfolio managers behind PIMCO Total Return offer an inside look at the process that has fueled the core bond strategy for decades - and how they are managing the strategy to prepare for what’s ahead.

Barring a zombie apocalypse or a sudden spontaneous collapse in asset prices, PIMCO expects the global expansion to continue in 2018. Yet investors should prepare for both the consequences of policy shifts and the opportunities presented in more difficult market conditions.

As expected the Fed hiked rates in its June meeting, but the unexpected news is the detailed plan it released to shrink and normalize its balance sheet.

Group CIO Dan Ivascyn discusses how PIMCO is positioning portfolios in light of our long-term macroeconomic outlook.

Please join us for a discussion on different approaches to add downside portfolio protection in the current investing environment of lower yields, low volatility and generally neutral or rich valuations. As many investors perceive traditional fixed income solutions to be less attractive in providing downside protection and the cost of outright hedging options seems high, many discussions revolve around other portfolio diversifiers and options to improve resilience of portfolios in the downside scenario. The session will focus on best ways to protect client portfolios and pros and cons of various approaches.

Opinions in the active-passive investment debate have drifted poles apart over recent years. We revisit this discussion by contrasting equity and bonds. We look at performance numbers and find that, unlike their stock counterparts, active bond mutual funds have largely outperformed their median passive peers over our sample period. We offer conjectures as to why bonds and stocks differ. Differences may be due to:

•The large proportion of noneconomic bond investors
•Benchmark rebalancing frequency and turnover
•Structural tilts in fixed income space
•The wide range of financial derivatives available to active bond managers
•Security-level credit research and new issue concessions

In short, informational efficiencies make beating equity markets difficult. But we believe that's not the case with fixed income, where noneconomic and passive investors pursue agendas that are not exclusively about total return
Put simply, bonds are different.

Joachim Fels, Global Economic Advisor, and Portfolio Strategist Olivia Albrecht discuss PIMCO’s forecast for global growth and inflation, highlighting the reasons we have more confidence that the global economic expansion will strengthen and broaden over the cyclical horizon.

Group CIO Dan Ivascyn explains why PIMCO is still constructive on housing, more active in EM and cautious about interest rate exposure.

The global mortgage-backed securities (MBS) market offers an often overlooked opportunity set. Securities range across the spectrum in terms of interest rate and credit risk sensitivity allowing flexibility to navigate changing markets. Mortgage performance is more often tied to consumer credit and real estate fundamentals rather than the strength of corporate balance sheets. Allocating to MBS means investors can help diversify existing bond allocations and potentially enhance returns without increasing equity correlation.

At its March meeting, the Fed hiked rates as expected and left the projected path for rates unchanged. Yet, as Chair Yellen likes to remind us, the Fed is not on autopilot.

Emerging market investors initially reacted to the surprise result of the U.S. presidential election with a sharp pullback – just as the sector seemed to be staging a comeback. Despite continuing policy uncertainties, PIMCO’s outlook for the asset class is far more nuanced.

Please join us for a discussion of current market themes and cross-asset class investment implications. Geraldine Sundstrom and Dan Phillipson will discuss market dynamics and where investment opportunities remain amidst uncertain markets.

An update on recent developments on the macro-economic and policy backdrop and what it means for investors.

Please join us for a discussion of current market themes and cross-asset class investment implications. Geraldine Sundstrom and Dan Phillipson will discuss market dynamics and where investment opportunities remain amidst uncertain markets.

A discussion on ways to deliver positive absolute returns with low volatility in the current environment

A review of PIMCO's updated economic outlook for the next 3-5 years.

On Tuesday 28 June, PIMCO hosted a conference call with London-based Portfolio Managers Andrew Balls, Mike Amey and Philippe Bodereau, discussing the investment outlook and questions in the wake of the historic Brexit referendum in the UK on 23 June 2016.