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COVID-19 UPDATE
As the COVID-19 outbreak increases and market volatility increases, get our latest insights.
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Citywire Ranks Emerging Markets Small Cap Growth
Fund #1
The William Blair SICAV Emerging
Markets Small Cap Growth Fund (Class Z shares, USD) ranked #1 in Citywire's Investment Trust Insider Equity — Global Emerging Markets Smaller Companies category for the three-year
and one-year periods ending 30 September 2020.
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DDA Fund Receives
UCITS Hedge Award
The William Blair SICAV Dynamic Diversified Allocation Fund
received the 2020 UCITS Hedge Award for Best Performing Fund over 2, 3, 4, and 5 year
periods in the Global Macro less than $100 million category.
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Meet Our New Emerging Markets Debt Team
And learn about the factors supporting opportunities in emerging markets debt.
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Why We Find Digital Payments Compelling
As a consumer, you may not spend much time thinking about the series of connections and interactions that take place within a few seconds after you swipe your...
Read More from Daniel Hill
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Coronavirus Spreads to Emerging Debt
Markets began reacting to the potential economic impact of the coronavirus during the week of February 18, and we could see further volatility in the coming weeks—but...
Read More from Daniel Wood and Luis Olguin
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Coronavirus Shakes Markets—Likely Temporarily
Last week's change in the outlook for the spread of the coronavirus shook the markets, making it important for investment managers to provide clients with...
Read More from Ken McAtamney
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Investment Implications of COVID-19: Worse Before Better
When we began discussing the coronavirus outbreak in mid-January, we ascertained that things would get worse before they were better.
Read More from John Simmons
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ESG in EMD: Analyst-Driven, Outcome-Oriented
We truly believe emerging markets debt is the last frontier of investing; you can still uncover a lot of value through rigorous bottom-up analysis.
Read More from Yvette Babb and Luis Olguin
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Sustainable Energy: A Growth Story for Decades to Come
Renewable energy is now a long-term growth story. Investors, businesses, governments worldwide—alarmed by the effects and costs of climate change—are...
Read More from Alaina Anderson
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ESG in Emerging Markets Debt
Emerging corporate credit markets are relatively unexplored from an ESG perspective, but sustainable opportunities can be found in unlikely places.
Read More from Yvette Babb and Luis Olguin
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Embracing Change: Humans Plus Machines
Technology, for asset managers and their clients, is less about technology stocks and more about the way disruption affects ...
Read More from Ken McAtamney
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A Macro Approach to ESG Investing
Interest in investing that incorporates environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors has grown tremendously during the past few years. More importantly...
Read More from John Simmons
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Our Edge in Emerging Markets Debt
We believe a combination of bottom-up and top-down expertise deepens our understanding of performance drivers, improving the decision-making process.
Read More from Marco Ruijer and Marcello Assalin
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Consumer Trends Drive Big Changes for Companies
Consumer consumption trends continue to evolve: Consumer habits are changing, the rise of influencers is shaping consumption, voice technology is changing purchasing, and...
Read More from Kwesi Smith
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Why Emerging Markets Debt Now
Emerging markets debt is still an asset in our perspective that's under-owned.
Read More from Marcelo Assalin
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Investing Across the Corporate Lifecycle
When your goal is evaluating the sustainability of long-term corporate performance, it's helpful to understand where a company is in its corporate lifecycle because..
Read More from Ryan Dimas
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Pensions & Investments Names
William Blair a 2019 Best Workplace
Pensions & Investments has once again named William Blair Investment
Management a “Best Place to Work in Money Management.”
Read Pensions & Investments Names William Blair a 2019 Best Workplace
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Let Brexit Begin
Now that Boris Johnson's Conservative Party has won a decisive parliamentary majority, negotiations on the actual terms of Brexit put us into uncharted territory.
Read More from Olga Bitel
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Secular Growth Drives Public Cloud
William Blair Large Cap Growth Strategy Co-Portfolio Manager Jim Golan, CFA, discussed his team's stock-picking philosophy in interviews with...
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Incentivize Good
Known as the father of financial futures, Dr. Richard Sandor, chairman and CEO of the American Financial Exchange, joins us for an in-depth conversation about...
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Our Top 3 Posts in 2019
Rising repo rates, investing in technology outside the technology sector, and equal risk contribution—three disparate topics that were...
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What Makes a Business Durable?
When many investors think about quality, they focus on traditional metrics, such as balance-sheet strength, credit quality, and business stability.
Read More from Dan Crowe
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Trending: Slowbalization, Big Tech, Political Pendulums
Patrick Foulis, business affairs editor for The Economist, discusses the top global economic trends to watch and gives us a glimpse into the inner workings of the 176-year-old publication.
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Changing Consumer Consumption Trends
Consumer behavior is changing, and to be successful, brands have to keep up—but many are struggling because they feel like the inmates are running the asylum.
Read More from Kwesi Smith
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Personalized Medicine: Wave of the Future
Historically, the pharmaceutical industry has focused on developing blockbuster drugs for the masses, taking a one-size-fits-all approach. But as we've learned more...
Read More from Thomas Sternberg
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Central Bank Stimulus: End of Road?
The European Central Bank's (ECB's) recent announcement of another stimulus package was met with disappointment by some market participants, but...
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Is It Science Fiction or Is It Healthcare?
Cell therapy, gene editing, and other medical technologies that focus on the human genome are more than science fiction. Find out how in personalized medicine are...
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Assessing Markets Where We Can Go on Offense
Global equities and bond yields are trending lower, and we maintain a relatively low-risk profile. But we're always assessing where we can go...
Read More from John Simmons
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Why Equal Risk Contribution Matters
While equal risk contribution is just one of many options for constructing investment portfolios, it offers the opportunity to...
Read More from Peter Carl
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Repo Market Recalls The Breakfast Club
The rapid rise in the overnight repo rate on September 16 into September 17 harkened back to a John Hughes movie, with the repo trader playing...
Read More from Steve Karasick
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What Consumers Want: Amazing First Date
When you invest in global consumer companies as we do, you have to develop a framework to understand the consumer's state of mind—and...
Read More from Kwesi Smith
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Bullish on Tech—Especially Outside the Tech Sector
When thinking about technology, asset managers and asset owners have similar concerns and opportunities—both when investing in it and applying it.
Read More from Ken McAtamney
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China's ESG Transformation
China is the world's worst polluter, so why feature it in a series about the critical but underappreciated value of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) considerations in emerging markets?
Read More from Blake Pontius
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Cubs Win! Tom Ricketts Explains How
When Tom Ricketts, CFA, chairman of the Chicago Cubs, took over the “loveable losers” in 2009, he set about transforming the organization. Seven years later...
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Pitfalls of Traditional Valuation Metrics
We wrote about the pitfalls associated with mainstream approaches to measuring quality, but this is not the only measure of company characteristics that we feel has shortcomings...
Read More from Peter Carl
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Economic Scorecard: Green Shoots Emerging
Our updated Macroeconomic Scorecard, a tool we use to inform our fundamental research, indicates that...
Read More from Olga Bitel
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Boris Brings On Brexit
Although Boris Johnson's appointment as prime minister of the United Kingdom (U.K.) in July has spiced up the Brexit story, the political risks around Brexit are consistent with what we had anticipated...
Read More from Tom Clarke
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Traditional Quality Metrics Miss Opportunities, Risks
How are our metrics different? In our view, the main shortcoming of mainstream metrics is that they tend to be influenced by...
Read More from Peter Carl
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Breaking Free From Global Equity Silos
The changing nature of global economic growth requires a new look at global equity investing, away from traditional silos based on region and capitalization size.
Read More from Ken McAtamney
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Our Notable Women in Finance
The Crain's 2019 Notable Women in Finance list includes Stephanie Braming CFA, partner, global head of investment management, and Vivian Lin Thurston, CFA, partner, portfolio manager.
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Why Rates Will Stay Low
Global bond yields are reaching new lows, in some cases crashing through zero. This reflects a realization on the market›s part that...
Read More from Brian Singer
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China Backdrop: Fundamentally and Technically Positive
China's official launch of a technology innovation board on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, STAR Market, which is sometimes referred to as China's Nasdaq, may...
Read More from Vivian Lin Thurston
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Disruption in Sleepy Sectors
The challenge is finding those companies that generate strong corporate performance and can stand the test of time.
Read More from Alaina Anderson
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Challenges to China's Growth
China has shown impressive economic growth during the past 40 years, driven largely by the opening of the country to foreign investment.
Read More from Lotta Moberg
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Modeling Quality: Focus on Sustainable Value Creation
Traditional quality metrics, such as earnings quality and financial strength, are not the key drivers of our investment philosophy...
Read More from Spiro Voulgaris
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Why ESG Matters in Emerging Markets
The January 2019 collapse of a Brazilian mine tailings dam—which released 11.7 million cubic meters of toxic mud, killed at least 150 people, and led to...
Read More from Blake Pontius
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China A: Too Big to Ignore
MSCI and FTSE Russell are increasing the inclusion of China A-shares in key indices, sending an unequivocal message about...
Read More from Romina Graiver
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E-commerce Mega-Trends in India
As a global equity analyst, one of the most interesting aspects of my job is identifying companies with innovative technology and...
Read More from Rita Spitz
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Data Science in Action: Financial Services
Financial institutions and large retailers are using data science to drive improvements across the business, from regulatory compliance to the customer experience.
Read More from Dan Hill
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Spanish Election Implications for Europe
There are two important takeaways from the recent Spanish election that we can apply to our analysis of the rest of Europe.
Read More from Edouard Senechal
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Carrots and Sticks in Taiwan
In Asia, much of the spotlight has been on the interplay between North Korea, China, and the United States—but that may be shifting as Taiwan's elections approach.
Read More from Aaron Balsam
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Focused Stock Picking in Short-Term Noise
In the midst of headline news focused on signs of an economic slowdown, political gridlock in the U.S, and...
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Trump Trade Tweets Tweak China
This weekend U.S. President Donald Trump tweeted a plan to further tax Chinese goods.
Read More from Olga Bitel
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Carry Trade: Ruble Reversion
There has always been a degree of skepticism from the general market about whether you can make money in active currency management.
Read More from Tom Clarke
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AI: Manufacturing and Employment Disruption
While considered ordinary technologies today, the automobile, electricity, and the internet all drastically changed processes and...
Read More from Olga Bitel
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Blame Game Drives Brexit
In any negotiation, fear of being blamed for the alternative often prevents breakdown. But...
Read More from Tom Clarke
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China Rising: An E-Commerce Story
The conventional perception of China's economy is that it's driven by manufacturing and...
Read More from Vivian Lin Thurston
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Slowing Growth, Fiscal Response
When assessing the near-term outlook for asset returns, we look at growth, liquidity, and valuations...
Read More from Olga Bitel
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Exploring Sustainability
Across industries, companies are asking themselves: Are we a good corporate citizen?
Read More from Laura Coy
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China Opening Up
The most important driver of China's transformation into a global leader has been...
Read More from Lotta Moberg
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Turkish Lira Headwinds and Tailwinds
While macroeconomic forces are favorable for the Turkish lira, we recently reduced our long exposure as geopolitical risks rise.
Read More from Tom Clarke
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Applying AI to Traditional Industries
When people think of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning, images of autonomous driving, virtual reality, and...
Read More from Kurt Wiese
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The Cost of Climate Change
Is there a cost to climate change? Clearly so, and it's impacting the profitability of companies in which we seek to invest.
Read More from Alaina Anderson
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The Battle for Data Talent
References to “AI” and “machine learning” may have surpassed “big data” as the trendiest buzzwords in the technology industry over the past few years.
Read More from Dan Hill
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The Game Theory of Brexit
In mid-January, we learned—to nobody's surprise—that the Brexit agreement devised between...
Read More from Tom Clarke
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Anti-Globalization Picks Up Steam
Ongoing tariff negotiations are shifting short-term economic winners and losers, and perhaps even...
Read More from Ken McAtamney
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AI Redefines Healthcare
Over the long run, innovation and productivity gains are the primary drivers of economic growth.
Read More from Olga Bitel
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Where We See Fundamental Opportunities
As central banks have embarked on a disjointed unwinding of their balance sheets, it is easy to see that the day of reckoning is upon us.
Read More from Brian Singer
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Benefits of Cognitive Diversity
Successful investment management firms of the future will be investment led and foster a culture of intellectual curiosity and diverse thinking, said Stephanie Braming...
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Fundamentals Re-emerging
Monetary policy has hampered the ability of fundamentals to influence market prices, but we're beginning to see them re-emerge...
Read More from Brian Singer
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Why This Disruption Is Different—Circuit Breakers
As central banks now embark on a disjointed unwinding of their balance sheets, we add to...
Read More from Brian Singer
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China Rising: Spending Across Generations
As we look for compelling investment opportunities in China, it's important to pay close attention to...
Read More from Vivian Lin Thurston
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Why This Disruption Is Different—the Volcker Rule
Along with monetary policy and rules-based strategies, a primary concern for us is...
Read More from Brian Singer
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Have Your Currency Cake and Eat It Too
At a time when investors are concerned about equity valuations and rising correlations among...
Read More from Tom Clarke
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Why This Disruption Is Different—Rules-Based Strategies
As in the prior three waves of quantitative easing, central banks' current ultra-easy monetary policies have pushed volatility levels...
Read More from Brian Singer
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Is Sustainability Sustainable?
Given investors' surging interest in combining financial return objectives with environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors...
Read More from Blake Pontius
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The Bigger the Easing, the Bigger the Fall
If the effects of past waves of easy monetary policy are any indication, it's difficult to see how this latest wave can end well.
Read More from Brian Singer
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New Movie, Same Plot: 4 Waves of Monetary Policies
As discussed in the first part of this series, markets have a history of repeated cycles of euphoria, crashes, and recoveries.
Read More from Brian Singer