asset allocation | august 2, 2024
Asset Allocation Viewpoints Webcast -
A broadening of opportunities
Our panel evaluates areas of opportunity and reinforces the importance of an active approach for investing.
50:12
Key Insights
In an environment of higher rates and market volatility, an active approach can provide opportunity for investors.
While the mega-cap tech stocks dominated equities in 2023, there are additional themes for equity markets in 2024.
The panel provides its perspective on asset allocation in 2024, including portfolio construction and tactical positioning insights.
Sébastien Page, CFA®
Head of Global Multi-Asset and Chief Investment Officer
Christina Noonan, CFA®
Associate Portfolio Manager
Robert W. Sharps, CFA®
Chair of the Board, Chief Executive Officer, and President
Christina Noonan: Hello everyone, and thank you for joining us for today's quarterly Asset Allocation Viewpoints webcast, “A Broadening of Opportunities.” The first half of the year saw very strong and narrowly led equity markets amid mixed data on growth and inflation. However, recent data has turned more decisively in the direction of easing growth and lower inflation.
This has allowed for markets to start to broaden, with small-caps performing well and the “Magnificent Seven” perhaps starting to lose a little bit of steam. As we enter the back half of the year, we will be keeping a close eye on whether these trends will continue. We also believe an active approach emphasizing diversification will be increasingly important in helping investors take advantage of these shifting market conditions.
We'll cover this and more during today's discussion. But before we dive in, let's quickly highlight a few viewer tips.
On the right side of the screen are the engagement tools, where you can submit a question—which we encourage—respond to the polls, and take a short survey after the event. Below, you can download today's slides and more information on global asset allocation viewpoints. And you'll also see an opportunity to register for our next webcast scheduled for October 15.
If you happen to experience any problems viewing the webinar, please first try refreshing your browser, and if the problem persists, click the FAQ page linked below.
So with that, a quick review of T. Rowe Price’s Multi-Asset Division, the host of today's event. As shown on the screen, Multi-Asset has a deep, dedicated, and experienced team responsible for managing over $520 billion in assets.
The key principles of our investment approach include strategic portfolio design complemented by tactical asset allocation with a 6- to 18-month investment horizon and active security selection driven by our robust research platform.
Now, let's introduce our panel.
I'm Christina Noonan, an associate portfolio manager in the Multi-Asset Division, and the host of today's discussion. Joining me is our head of Multi-Asset and CIO, Sébastien Page, and today's special guest, Rob Sharps, the chief executive officer, chair of the Board, and president of T. Rowe Price Group.
Rob has been with T. Rowe Price since 1997, beginning as an analyst in the Equity Division. His experience with the firm includes roles within portfolio management and investment leadership, and before becoming CEO in 2022, Rob was most recently head of Investments and the chief investment officer of T. Rowe Price Group.
Thank you very much for being with us today, Rob.
Rob Sharps: You're welcome, looking forward to the discussion.
Christina Noonan: And Sébastien Page, as mentioned, is head of Global Multi-Asset and CIO overseeing an investment team dedicated to a broad set of multi-asset portfolios. He is also a member of the Asset Allocation Committee, which is responsible for tactical investment decisions, and he is the author of award-winning research papers as well as an in-depth book on asset allocation, called “Beyond Diversification.” Thank you for joining us again today, Sébastien.
Sébastien Page: Thank you, Christina. I am fired up for this one. I know I often say this, but I am more fired up than usual.
Christina Noonan: Why is that?
Sébastien Page: Well, first of all, we have our CEO, super exciting, and second, the secret to these webinars is that I always drink extra coffee before, so I am ready to roll. All right, let's go.
Christina Noonan: All right, let's get going. So today, we're going to touch on what's happening in markets, including trends, views on active management and how we're managing portfolios accordingly. We'll also be asking you, the audience, to please share your perspective on a few themes alongside our panel. So please look out for this and also continue to share your questions with us.
All right, so let's get started with you, Sébastien. Since we met last quarter, equity markets have continued to outperform, albeit narrowly led, at the same time that the market had started pricing out rate cuts. Over the same period, we've started to see softer economic data. So where does that leave us in our appetite for risk today?
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