We continue WEALTHTRACK’s annual tradition of discussing the outlook for the economy, business, policy and markets with Evercore ISI’s Chairman, Ed Hyman, Wall Street’s reigning number one economist for an unprecedented 35 years running. Hyman will be joined by another exclusive guest, New York Life’s Vice Chairman and Chief Investment Officer, John Kim who oversees over $500 billion in assets at the life insurer, one of the oldest and largest in the world. In this first of a two part series, Hyman and Kim will focus on the outlook for the U.S. economy and markets.
WEALTHTRACK Episode #1129; Originally Broadcast on January 09, 2015
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Ed Hyman & John Kim
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ED HYMAN
Chairman, Evercore ISI
JOHN KIM
Vice Chairman, New York Life Insurance Company
As we head in to 2015, how are you feeling about the U.S. economy and stock market? If you are like most Americans, the answer is better than you did a year ago.
According to Wall Street’s top ranked economist and exclusive WEALTHTRACK guest Ed Hyman, consumer confidence is almost back to its normal expansion level, having made a slow recovery since the 2009 financial crisis.
That confidence is key to the durability and health of the U.S. economic recovery. Consumer spending accounts for about 70% of GDP.
Another positive is the now, nearly six year old bull market. According to Standard and Poors, the 70 month run since the market’s bottom in early 2009 is the fourth longest since World War 2. Last year the S&P 500 scored its third consecutive double digit gain, with a better than 11% advance, nearly 14% when dividends were added.
Other big game changers are the dramatic declines in crude oil and gasoline prices, saving families’ hundreds of dollars in annual energy costs, and the ongoing trend of low interest rates. The yield on the benchmark, 10-year Treasury note closed at 2.173% at the end of the year – well below the 3% plus level of a year ago.
What’s the outlook for this year?
This week we have our exclusive annual interview with Ed Hyman, the legendary economist who has been ranked number one on Wall Street by Institutional Investor magazine for an unprecedented 35 years in a row. Ed is now the Chairman of Evercore ISI, having recently sold ISI, International Strategy and Investment, the firm he co-founded in 1991 to Evercore Partners, a leading investment banking advisory firm.
Our other exclusive guest is John Kim, Vice Chairman and Chief Investment Officer of New York Life Insurance Company , where he now oversees more than $500 billion in global stock, bond, cash, and alternative investment assets.
Prior to New York Life, Kim was President of Prudential Retirement, CIGNA Retirement and Investment Services and Chief Investment Officer of Aetna Life Insurance and Annuity Company.
New York Life is a sponsor of WEALTHTRACK but Kim joins us on his own merits for his long-term, multi-asset, global perspective.
I begin the interview by asking each of them how they feel about the health of the U.S. economy as we enter 2015.
As always, if you can’t join us to watch the show on your local public television station, you can view it on WealthTrack.com. If you’d like to see the show before it airs, it is available to our PREMIUM subscribers right now. We also have EXTRA interviews with both Hyman and Kim, available exclusively on our website.
If you have comments or questions, please do connect with us via Facebook or Twitter.
Have a great weekend and make the week ahead a profitable and productive one.
Best Regards,
No Action Point this week.
No Bookshelf titles this week.
KIM: ATTRACTIVE OPPORTUNITIES
– Mid-Cap U.S. stocks: Consider a Mid-Cap ETF such as:
SPDR S&P MidCap 400 ETF (MDY)
– Regional U.S. banks: Consider a regional bank ETF such as:
SPDR S&P Regional Banking ETF (KRE)
HYMAN: APPRECIATING ASSETS
– Buy assets you like such as stocks, real estate
– Don’t sit on cash
SPDR S&P Regional Banking ETF (KRE)
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KIM: LOWER MARKET RISK
John Kim, Vice Chairman and Chief Investment Officer of New York Life Insurance Company oversees more than $500 billion in assets at the company’s Investments Group, including an expanding portfolio of Alternative Investment management boutiques and funds. What role do alternatives investments, such as hedge funds have in New York Life portfolios?
HYMAN: COMMODITY SUPERCYCLE
In our exclusive conversation with Wall Street’s long reigning number one economist, Ed Hyman and New York Life’s Chief Investment Officer John Kim we discussed the dramatic drop in the price of oil and other commodities. Hyman, Chairman of Evercore ISI weighs in on the much heralded end of the commodity super cycle.