News & Insights

Bailard, Inc., an independent wealth and asset management firm, is proud to announce its recognition as one of the Bay Area’s 2024 Top Workplaces by the San Francisco Chronicle. The firm was ranked second in its category (for companies with 35-149 employees).

EAFE ended the month at an all-time high, driven higher in August by weakness against all developed market currencies.

Thomas J. Mudge III, CFA, Bailard’s Director of Equity Research, shares his insights in a recent MarketWatch story by Isabel Wang. Discover the relationship between interest rates and the Small Cap ETF market. Read more, here:

So proud to see Dave Harrison Smith, CFA, representing Bailard on Cheddar this week! From Fed Rate cuts and inflation to semiconductors and cybersecurity, Dave covered all the hottest topics in tech. Don't miss his insightful interview:

Bailard CIO Eric Leve shares his thoughts on the highly anticipated rate cuts in September. While some push for aggressive reductions, Eric advocates for a gradual approach. "A measured response is critical here to show that the Fed doesn't believe that it has fallen behind," he noted. Explore more of Eric’s insights here:

Bailard has been named No. 2 in the 2024 Bay Area Top Workplaces by the San Francisco Chronicle, and our CEO, Sonya Mughal, won a special leadership award. (Both in the Small Company category of firms with less than 150 employees; please see important disclosures here: https://bailard.com/awards/

Bailard today announced its ranking among the San Francisco Business Times’ annual top 100 Bay Area Corporate Philanthropists list, for the fourth year in a row.

Macron’s gamble may have worked out after all, with the French election delivering a surprise defeat to the far right and a victory to the left-wing alliance. However, with no single alliance of parties having won a majority, the shape of its future government remains unclear.

Elections came into focus during the second quarter, with mixed impact thus far on global equities. Japanese intervention in response to yen weakness and a rebound in the Chinese equity market were among the quarter’s other short-lived events. Longer-lasting: a global monetary loosening cycle began to take shape, though the US Federal Reserve has not yet joined in. Amid these gripping but perhaps confusing headlines, we continue to emphasize company, industry, and country fundamentals—which are strong across many foreign market segments. We remain optimistic in a range of opportunities both in developed and emerging equities.

The equity markets continued to narrow in Q2. Large growth was the only winning style, and even that was deceptive as large growth returns were concentrated in the usual handful of mega caps perceived to be artificial intelligence (AI) beneficiaries. While showing some signs of weakness, economic growth remained positive while inflation continued to roughly moderate through the period. Interest rates rose in April, fell in May and were largely flat in June, ending the quarter very close to where they started.

The Bailard Technology Strategy posted a 2Q24 total return of 9.75% net of fees, ahead of both the cap-heavy benchmark index (S&P North American Technology Index) as well as the competitor-comprised benchmarks. The Morningstar U.S. Open End Technology Category returned 3.24% and the Lipper Science and Technology Fund Index returned 5.10%, while the S&P North American Technology Index generated 9.36% and the Nasdaq-100 Index returned 8.05%. Over longer time periods of 3, 5, and 10 years, the Strategy’s net returns continued to lead the competitor peer benchmarks.

The ECB and the Bank of Canada cut rates by 25bps earlier this month. The mood in Europe remains dovish as the ECB’s Rehn, a usual hawk, says expectations for two more cuts this year are reasonable. The Bank of England kept rates steady but hinted that policy makers could cut as soon as August on the back of the UK’s inflation progress.

Following its Swiss counterpart’s March cut, the European Central Bank appears poised to lower rates at its early June meeting. Markets may have anticipated this growing divergence between the Fed and peers abroad, as the dollar weakened slightly through May and European equities led.

The Japanese yen hit its lowest level versus the dollar since the 1980s late in the month, followed by a sharp bounce in the currency, which most suspect was driven by official intervention.

The global economic environment changed dramatically in the first quarter as bond yields, which had marched down in the 4th quarter on the belief that central bank pivots were fast approaching, reversed course. Prospects for mid-year reductions in short-term interest rates remain high for Europe and the UK, but persistent strength in the U.S. labor market has pushed prospects for a shift there closer to the end of 2024. Still, non-U.S. equities found purchase in solid earnings even as they faced headwinds from a strong dollar due to the evolving central bank dynamics and heightened geopolitical risks. As noted below, we see a range of foreign stocks that can flourish in the current environment and remain excited for the potential of stocks both in developed and emerging markets to compete well against U.S. peers.

The Bailard Technology Strategy posted a Q1 total return of 17.08% net of fees, meaningfully ahead of the competitor-comprised benchmarks, with the Morningstar U.S. Open End Technology Category return of 8.56% and the Lipper Science and Technology Fund Index return of 12.18%. The Strategy also led both the S&P North American Technology Index return of 15.31% and the mega-cap Nasdaq-100 Index return of 8.72%. Over longer time periods of 3, 5, and 10 years, the Strategy’s net returns continued to lead the competitor’s peer group benchmarks.