Private Asset Management Magazine – December 2014
Michael Kastner, principal at Halyard Asset Management, investigates the impact that incoming legislative changes to money market funds could have on a family office
Financial Times – 10/17/14
Michael Kastner, managing principal at Halyard Asset Management says: “There is a view that the Fed will lose its nerve given all the market volatility.” Central bankers had already forfeited markets’ full confidence before this week; now they are starting to be intimidated by them.
Financial Times – 10/16/14
“Margin is a concern and can certainly result in you being taken out of a trade,” says Michael Kastner, managing principal at Halyard Asset Management.
But there are silver linings. One resides in companies’ hefty stock buy back programmes, says Mr Kastner.
“I’m constructive on the share market as companies have a mandate to buy back their stock, and many of the large-caps in the S&P can be aggressive.”
Financial Times – 9/18/14
“The demand for bonds has been so great in recent years that people have looked beyond the credit rating as they just want yield – any type of yield,” says Michael Kastner of Halyard Asset Management.
Mike Kastner on CNBC – 8/19/14
CNBC’s Jeff Cox, and Michael Kastner, Halyard Asset Management, discuss why retail investors are steering clear of junk bonds while institutional money is buying.
One investor’s junk (bond) another’s treasure
Financial Times – 8/11/14
Michael Kastner, principal at Halyard Asset Management, says relationships with banks “are not nearly as close as they once were” given the shifting regulatory backdrop.
This has spurred Mr Kastner to hold “liquid” fixed-income securities – or those that can more easily be sold. He says he is steering clear of certain bonds, such as asset-backed instruments whose so-called secondary markets are not deep.
“When things get sloppy, it can be tough to get out of certain fixed- income products,” says Mr Kastner.
Financial Times – 7/17/14
Michael Kastner, principal at Halyard Asset Management, says the increased regulatory oversight on US global banks means a catalyst to drive their share price higher is no longer present. He says investors are trying to work out whether “the Fed wants these banks to be innovative and create new products that can drive earnings or are we going back to an older safer banking model”.
The divergence between banks and their price to book ratios is not surprising says Mr Kastner. “Global banks have exposure to all the problems in other parts of the world so investors have to consider what these institutions have on their books that they may not know.”
Financial Times – 4/11/13
Michael Kastner, principal at Halyard Asset Management, said the growth potential for biotechs remained promising but the sector had become expensive.
“In terms of investment stories, it’s good for investors but prices have run up so much that I think we are seeing some aggressive traders pushing it around.”
Asia and Europe feel the pain as US tech rout spreads
Financial Times – 4/8/14
“We are at a very late stage in the high-yield rally,” says Michael Kastner, principal at Halyard Asset Management. “But people chasing yields look at how well these bonds did in the last couple of years and assume they can replicate that.”
Financial Times – 4/3/14
“A strong jobs number should see the S&P 500 push through 1,900 as the data will force the doubters off the sidelines and back into stocks,” said Michael Kastner, principal at Halyard Asset Management. “If we get a weaker number the market will reset a little lower and wait for further data.”