Capital Ideas podcast

With vaccinations widely available and a year's worth of pent-up consumer demand, shoppers are flocking to stores. That's great news for retailers since the holiday season makes or breaks their year. Still, new COVID variants and outbreaks threaten an already shaky supply chain. Capital Group analyst Rachel Bowman shares insight into the retail outlook, why discounts are harder to find this year a...

Demand for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies has skyrocketed in recent years, resulting in wild price movements. Should these volatile digital assets be considered legitimate financial instruments or are they simply a recipe for disaster? In this podcast, Capital Group portfolio manager Mark Casey, investment analyst Douglas Upton and emerging technologies analyst Bobby Esnard dig into the opport...

Dividend-paying companies felt the brunt of the global shutdown initiated by COVID. But with the reopening of economies in recent months, many of the hardest-hit companies — and the dividends they pay out to investors — are returning to form. Capital Group portfolio managers Hilda Applbaum, Aline Avzaradel and Caroline Randall discuss how they are approaching today's dividend revival. This content...

While the Federal Reserve stopped just short of tightening policy in its September meeting, its first move is expected later this year. How could it affect today's elevated inflation rate? Are interest rate hikes soon to follow – or still a distant worry? Listen and learn what you need to know as a bond investor. Related: The long unwinding road: Our take on Fed tapering and inflation   This conte...

Big cities experienced a COVID-induced exodus in 2020 as millions of telecommuters headed for the suburbs and other outlying areas. How durable is this change and what could it mean for investors? Capital Group economist Jared Franz shares his view on the deurbanization of America. This content is published by Capital Client Group, Inc. For industry-leading insights, support tools and more, subscr...

How we can get better at thinking critically and objectively is the far-reaching topic of this discussion. Author Julia Galef discusses the findings of her new book, The Scout Mindset: Why Some People See Things Clearly and Others Don't , including why many of us cling to our beliefs without the benefit of good reasoning. Host Matt Miller helps bring the importance of adopting the "scout mindset"...

Jeffrey Garten's book, Three Days at Camp David: How a Secret Meeting in 1971 Transformed the Global Economy , examines the unlikely events that led to President Richard Nixon's surprise announcement that the U.S. dollar would no longer be fixed to gold. Here, 50 years later, Garten details the political maneuvering, the now-familiar cast of characters and the themes that resonate for management o...

Andrew Cormack, a portfolio manager with Capital World Bond Fund®, discusses his outlook for fixed income markets amid a reawakening of the global economy. Will higher inflation dampen bond market returns? When will the Fed raise interest rates? How long will the ECB keep rates in negative territory? Listen in to hear Andrew's view. This content is published by Capital Client Group, Inc. For indus...

Corporate boards have been around for nearly 500 years. Yet according to author Dambisa Moyo, the challenges they face today along the "cultural frontier" amount to a new mandate. Moyo discusses her new book, How Boards Work – and How They Can Work Better in a Chaotic World , and explains how boards are handling the demands of geopolitics, new technology and calls for diversity. Dambisa Moyo is au...

Increasingly aggressive regulation of the world's largest and most successful technology companies has been cause for concern among many investors. But how concerned should they be? Four Capital Group investment professionals recently weighed in on the subject. This content is published by Capital Client Group, Inc. For industry-leading insights, support tools and more, subscribe to Capital Ideas...

What factors have given rise to today's populist rebellion, and what should be the proper response from the dominant elites? Author and academic Michael Lind answers our probing questions about his latest book — "The New Class War: Saving Democracy from the Managerial Elite" — in which he addresses the critical social themes of our time. Michael Lind is a professor of public affairs at the Univers...

Is this the year international stocks will finally overtake the U.S.? Greg Fuss, an equity portfolio manager with American Funds International Vantage Fund(SM), won't commit, but opportunities he's finding among companies in Europe and elsewhere give him confidence that the rest of the world is gaining ground. This content is published by Capital Client Group, Inc. For industry-leading insights, s...

Capital Group investment professionals Winnie Kwan and Kent Chan discuss the outlook for China's economy and markets as the world's second largest economy emerges from the pandemic. Winnie Kwan is a portfolio manager with 23 years of investment experience. She holds master's and bachelor's degrees in economics from Trinity College at the University of Cambridge. Kent Chan is an investment director...

Capital Group's collegial culture shines through, as three equity portfolio analysts — Mark Casey, Lisa Thompson and Chapman Taylor — share details of a recent "lessons learned" session involving the entire investment team. Hear the compelling, at times quirky, lessons that have helped shape their careers. This content is published by Capital Client Group, Inc. For industry-leading insights, suppo...

To help investors make sense of the political transition in Washington, we've flipped the script and asked our host, Matt Miller, to offer his perspective on the next four years. A political economist, Miller provides insight into the road ahead for the new administration, what the newly aligned Congress could mean for industries like technology and health care, and more. Matt Miller is a policy a...

Economist Eric Lonergan discusses his book, "Angrynomics," which explores how anger has contributed to the rise of divisive politics and unsustainable economic policies. The book, written with coauthor Mark Blyth, also offers some unconventional solutions, as Capital Group's Matt Miller reveals in this wide-ranging interview. This content is published by Capital Client Group, Inc.  For industry-le...

Join us for a timely discussion of markets and the global economy, plus a detailed look at equity and bond market opportunities. We conclude with implications for portfolio allocations in 2021. To view the additional resource, 2021 Outlook slides, click here [ PDF ] or copy and paste bit.ly/3tjl9dF into your browser. To view the webinar or attend future webinar events, visit capitalideaswebinars.c...

London-based fixed income portfolio manager Mark Brett is retiring at the end of 2020. Here he distills the perspective gained over his four-decade career into practical guidance for bond investors embarking on what he sees as a new phase for the markets. This content is published by Capital Client Group, Inc. For industry-leading insights, support tools and more, subscribe to Capital Ideas at  ge...

Capital Group equity analyst Rachel Bowman shares her outlook for the U.S. retail sector amid a pandemic-ravaged holiday shopping season. Some retailers are having their best year ever, she notes, while many others are going bankrupt — and there's not much in between. This content is published by Capital Client Group, Inc. For industry-leading insights, support tools and more, subscribe to Capital...

Medical technology has come a long way in the two decades since the sequencing of the human genome. Given the staggering advances ahead of us, combined with the immediate global need to find a vaccine and treatments for COVID-19, it's little wonder that portfolio manager Rich Wolf says, "There's never been a more exciting time in health care." Related: Health care innovation reaches warp speed Thi...

Many small-cap stocks are among the world's most innovative and fastest growing companies, but the asset class tends to be more volatile than large-cap stocks. We check in with veteran small-cap investors Greg Wendt and Brad Freer, who share their thoughts on this less-understood asset class. Related: Dreams of 2030: Small caps and the next innovation wave This content is published by Capital Clie...

As portfolio manager Claudia Huntington prepares to turn the page on a storied 47-year career at Capital Group, we couldn't help but request one final interview. Here she shares her top three lessons for young investors, why she loves small-cap growth companies and more. Claudia Huntington is an equity portfolio manager with 47 years of investment experience. She holds an MBA from Harvard and a ba...

Capital Group equity analyst Nathan Meyer discusses the rapid growth of the video game industry amid the COVID-19 pandemic. In the stay-at-home era, new gamers are entering the market and existing gamers are spending more time than ever playing console, PC and mobile games. Meyer explains why that's welcome news for investors. Nathan Meyer is an equity investment analyst who covers the video games...

The year 2020 has been uncharacteristically eventful for the municipal bond market, which has seen multiple shifts in direction in just a few short months. We check in with resident muni portfolio managers Chad Rach and Mark Marinella for a recap of the volatile year to date; a status report on muni mainstays such as airports, toll roads and hospitals in the midst of the pandemic; and a glimpse at...

Author Zachary Carter discusses the themes behind his new book — "The Price of Peace: Money, Democracy, and the Life of John Maynard Keynes." As one of the most important thinkers of the 20th century, Keynes continues to have broad influence over policymakers around the world, particularly in the aftermath of the 2008–09 financial crisis and the coronavirus outbreak. Zachary Carter is a senior rep...