Stocks' Record ROE

Research

Goldman Sachs - The impact of the AI capex boom on S&P 500 return on equity (28 pages)

The S&P 500's return on equity is at a record high of 22%, largely fueled by mega-cap technology stocks and surging semiconductor profitability. Goldman Sachs looks at the implications on the market and sectors.

CMT Association - Navigating Lost Decades (23 pages)

The authors examine lost decades as recurring market regimes rather than rare anomalies, challenging the comfort of simple buy and hold. They note U.S. equities have spent 35% of market history in these periods.

Allianz - Emerging markets in a fragmented world: From geography to resilience - the 4Rs framework (13 pages)

Allianz Research argues that country resilience now matters more than the traditional emerging versus developed market distinction. Using a framework based on resources, reserves, rates, and refinancing, they show why recent geopolitical shocks produced very different outcomes across countries, despite similar market classifications.

Man Group - The Ripple Effect (20 pages)

Man Group examines how war in the Middle East, rising government intervention, growing wealth inequality, and AI investment are reshaping the global economy. Despite these pressures, markets remain resilient, creating a disconnect that could leave investors vulnerable if growth slows and earnings expectations reset.

Ares Management - A Comprehensive Guide to Private Infrastructure (32 pages)

Ares Management examines how private infrastructure has evolved from traditional utilities and transportation assets into a broader opportunity set tied to digitalization, electrification, and AI.

Bonus Content

As institutional capital moves deeper into digital assets, one question is becoming increasingly relevant: what, exactly, should crypto fund managers be measured against?. Link

The AI infrastructure boom has driven an outsized number of stocks to gains of 100% or more in the past year. Link

Stifel’s Tim Opler published a study on the biotech buyside. Link

Schroders Equity Lens for June explains when valuations are at current high levels, the case for equities hinges strongly on earnings.. Link

Seth Klarman covers the AI bubble debate, value investing in a 40x multiple market, and why the risk free asset is starting to look risky (29 minutes). Link

Owen Lamont: “The chamber of dispersion has been opened, the beast of volatility has awakened, and the season of chaos is at hand.” Link

Podcasts

Meb’s Corner

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Definitions:

MSCI ACWI: A market-capitalization-weighted index designed to provide a broad measure of global equity-market performance, including both developed and emerging market countries.

DJBGI: The Dow Jones Brookfield Global Infrastructure Index measures the performance of pure-play infrastructure companies domiciled globally that own and operate infrastructure assets.

EDHEC infra300: An index built to represent the unlisted infrastructure market by tracking the performance of 300 private infrastructure equity investments across multiple countries and sectors.

MSCI Private Infrastructure Index: An index that tracks the performance and cash flows of privately owned, unlisted infrastructure assets globally.

Nasdaq 100: A market-capitalization-weighted index that tracks 100 of the largest domestic and international non-financial companies listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market.

S&P 500: A market-capitalization-weighted index that tracks the performance of 500 leading large-cap companies in the United States stock market.

S&P Mid Cap 400: An index that measures the performance of the mid-size company segment of the United States equity market.

STOXX Europe 600: A fixed-component index that tracks 600 large, mid, and small-capitalization companies across 17 European countries.

S&P small cap 600: An index designed to measure the performance of the small-capitalization segment of the United States equity market.

Russell 2000: An index that measures the performance of the small-cap segment of the United States equity universe, comprised of the smallest 2,000 companies in the Russell 3000 Index.

MSCI EM: A market-capitalization-weighted index designed to measure the equity market performance of emerging market countries around the world.

TOPIX: A capitalization-weighted index that tracks all domestic companies listed on the Prime Market section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange.