Russell OpenWorld

Articles & Research



Highlighted Articles
Active management headwinds

Active Management
Headwinds

This article examines
volitility and its
relationship to returns
Download now >>
OpenWorld webcasts

Russell OpenWorld® Conference webcasts

View the presentations
from the first Russell
OpenWorld Conference.
View the webcasts now >>


Our Strategies


Our Market Research

  • Climate Change: From Kyoto to Copenhagen (PDF 200KB)
    The UN Climate Change Conference to be held in Copenhagen in December 2009 represents the next chance for the world’s nations to reach agreement on what action should be taken. This paper maps out some of the major international initiatives aimed at achieving consensus on climate change policies and explains why the Copenhagen conference is unlikely to succeed.
  • Market Outlook - Cycling Higher (October 2009) (PDF 125KB) Global equities and credit enjoyed another strong quarter since the publication of our last Market Outlook. We expect that the next few months will be positive again, and that early 2010 will present us with the need for a reassessment. Until then, however, we think the cyclical uptrend is intact and will lend support to both stocks and corporate bonds...
  • Active Commodity Investing (PDF 159KB)
    We believe that an institutional investor’s decision to allocate to commodities should be considered as part of a strategic allocation. Investors are seeking to understand the options and the rationale for including commodities exposure in their portfolios. This piece looks at various inefficiencies in the market and explore how skilled managers might take advantage of them to add value to a commodities portfolio.
  • The outlook for commodities: What is driving commodity prices? (PDF 78KB)
    Commodities continue to attract the attention of investors, market commentators and politicians, and discussions on the subject tend to embrace a wide range of issues including: supply constraints in the face of global development; the sustainability of pricing; environmental and geopolitical issues; the challenges of global wealth distribution and the effect of financial investors on commodity prices.
  • Direct vs. Listed Infrastructure (PDF 90KB)
    RARE looks at why, in the long term, a portfolio of listed unique infrastructure assets can be considered as a substitute for a portfolio of direct infrastructure holdings. In the medium term, there is evidence that a combination of listed and direct infrastructure can be complementary and add to portfolio diversification and returns.
  • Performance Fees: An Overview (PDF 334KB)
    Funds in OpenWorld® use performance fees to ensure access to innovative managers and to keep base fees highly competitive. This note provides an overview of the key characteristics of the performance fee approach used in OpenWorld®.
  • Market Outlook - Widening Risks (August 2009) (PDF 263KB)
    For the first time since November of last year, we are no longer positive on global equities versus bonds. We have downgraded to neutral. This is not because we think that the outlook has deteriorated. Instead, we question whether after such a remarkable run of performance, there remain catalysts as yet not priced into markets that can bring the market higher still...
  • Active management headwinds reverse course (PDF 181KB)
    The environment for active management of equity portfolios has been notably unfavourable in recent years - but things are changing. Because cross-sectional volatility is increasing, opportunities for good managers to deliver strong returns are also increasing. Additionally, the pattern of increased return dispersion among securities generally applies to sectors as well.
  • Market Outlook - Green Shoots vs Dead Cats (April 2009) (PDF 118KB)
    We maintain our positive view on global equities versus bonds. The current Outlook discusses whether or not the rally that equity markets have posted since March 9 is indeed the rally that will bring us unequivocally out of the bear market and towards a generally strong year-over-year equity performance by year end.
  • Investment Manager Outlook (March 2009) (PDF 211KB)
    Manager optimism, tempered with a close realism, is bruised but not abandoned. This quarter's Investment Manager Outlook reflects waning bullishness in nine of 14 asset classes and seven of 12 sectors. Given the precipitous drop in the market, managers discarded their rose coloured glasses. However, while managers are more cautious than three months ago, they are still basically optimistic.
  • Market Outlook - The Great Unwind (Jan 2009) (PDF 211KB)
    In this issue of Market Outlook we discuss the difference between a "normal" cyclical downturn and a more drastic and rarer de-leveraging process. We contend that we are currently experiencing the latter.
  • Don't Discount Dividends (PDF 388KB)
    At a time when many investors are concerned about the uncertain prospects for many global companies, focusing on predictable companies and sectors is appealing. Few aspects of the return of equity markets are as predictable as the income from those companies that deliver a consistent yield. So let’s consider the often overlooked, much maligned dividend.
  • Time to Look to the East (PDF 388KB)
    In the first in a regular bulletin for Russell OpenWorld® investors, Russell's European head of Capital Markets Research, Dr John Velis, discusses the opportunities presented by the current historically low valuations in the Japanese Equity markets.
  • Market Outlook - Back from the Brink (Nov 2008) (PDF 185KB)
    September 2008 will likely go down in financial market history as one of the most important and remarkable months ever seen; we truly were – as we said in the title of our previous Market Outlook – poised on the precipice.
  • The Rise of the Boutique Asset Manager (PDF 120KB)
    This article examines the boutique business model: Why has it grown so rapidly? Is there a superior value proposition for investors in boutiques? And finally, what are some of the challenges investors face in trying to access this superior value proposition?