Morningstar Conference 2010

Just over one year ago, at Morningstar's 2009 Investment Conference, the market rally was but a few weeks old, with much runway still ahead of it. Noted managers including Bill Nygren, Chris Davis, and Marty Whitman expounded on the types of opportunities the downturn had served up and the experience of investing through a gut-wrenching bear market. 

This year, as some of the industry's top investment minds convened in Chicago for the 2010 Conference on June 23-25, we're facing a market that looks fully valued (according to Morningstar stock analysts' estimates), a very low-yield environment and a potentially difficult outlook for bonds, and an international debt crisis that has some experts drawing parallels to the subprime-lending debacle.

Against this backdrop, FPA's Steve Romick, Research Affiliates' Rob Arnott, DoubleLine's Jeffrey Gundlach, Legg Mason's Bill Miller, Artisan's Mark Yockey and a host of other noted managers and planners weighed in during panel sessions including "Macro View on Asset Allocation," "Income Strategies for Retirees," "Stock-Picking Across the Globe," "What's Next for Bonds," and "Dedicated to Dividends."

If you couldn't make it to Chicago for the conference, let us bring it to you. Get all the views, picks, strategies, and outlooks from the 2010 event in the blogs, articles, and video reports below. And be sure to bookmark this page and return again over the next few days, as even more reports will be posted.

The Macro View
Gundlach on Deflation Protection
In Wednesday's keynote address, the star bond manager recommends long-term U.S. government bonds to protect against deflation ... for now.

• Gundlach: Debt Is Still the Problem

Younes: Investing in an Overleveraged World
In response to a highly indebted developed world, the Artio manager looks to gold as an insurance policy and plays on domestic growth in emerging markets.

Arnott: 3-D Hurricane Coming
Deficit, debt, and demographics are converging in a formidable storm, with high odds of inflationary bursts in the years ahead, says Research Affiliates' Rob Arnott.

• Arnott: Conventional Truisms vs. the Truth

Romick, Younes on Cash, Gold, and Government Debt
The FPA and Artio managers on what to make of U.S. debt, cash as a risk-management tool, and the outlook for gold.

Romick: There Could Be More Hell to Pay
The FPA Crescent manager says an overleveraged government and consumer could spell more trouble ahead, leading to the fund's conservative positioning today.

Stocks & Stock-Picking
De Vaulx: We've Found Bargains in the U.S.
The IVA manager discusses recent picks in high yield, the U.S. market, a Japanese pharma company, and short-dated Asian currency bonds.

Miller: IBM the Most Remarkably Mispriced Name in the Market
The Legg Mason manager says this tech giant is like Poe's 'Purloined Letter': Hidden in plain sight. Plus, Miller on gaining a behavioral edge in investing.

Cates, Miller, Freeman: The Monsters of Stock
Morningstar's director of stock analysis Pat Dorsey sits down with three legendary stock-pickers that know how to navigate the long term.

Third Avenue Real Estate Value Puts Money to Work
Third Avenue's Jason Wolf says recent market disruptions have allowed the fund to take startup positions in Continental Europe for the first time and have made U.S. homebuilders more attractive.

The Dividend Story Is a Good One
Investors can own really great companies today with terrific balance sheets, high returns on equity, and sustainable rates of rising dividends, says Legg Mason Clearbridge's Hersh Cohen.

Dedicated to Dividends
Clearbridge's Cohen, Wellington's Kilbride, and American's Joe Matt on the role of dividends in a low-yield world, identifying dividends at risk, and where the values are today.

Marcus: A Perfect Time for Deep-Value Investors
Evermore's David Marcus, formerly of Mutual Series, says companies are using the European crisis to transform their businesses even faster to gear for the next phase of growth.

Where to Deploy Cash
Although they're not yet pounding the table for BP stock, Morningstar's senior analysts are finding some opportunities related to the spill.

The Shifting Dynamics of Health-Care Investing
Even after the passing of health-care reform, no one is completely sure of the legislation's eventual outcome on the industry.

International Investing
China Still Key for International Fund Managers
But enthusiasm high for other emerging markets, too.

Yockey on European Banks: The Strong Will Get Stronger
Banks on a long-term basis represent wonderful franchises, the Artisan manager said. Plus, Yockey on Japan: 'They have twice as many problems as the Greeks do.'

Three Top Global Managers Share Their Investment Ideas
They could invest anywhere, but here's what they chose.

• O'Keefe: Cautious on China
• O'Keefe: Look for Financials with Fee Income
• Globetrotting with a Trio of Stock-Pickers

Top Managers to Debate Foreign Hot Spots
Is the Greek meltdown an opportunity or a value trap? Top international managers will weigh in at Morningstar's Investment Conference.

Bonds & Income
Solutions to the Retirement Income Dilemma
Morningstar's Christine Benz outlines both agreed-upon and hotly debated strategies for sustainable income generation in retirement.

Income in Retirement: Big Challenges, No Easy Solutions
Noted planners debate solutions to the devilish low-rate environment, including adopting a total return approach, tweaking withdrawal rates, and using annuities.

Calamos: Convertibles Holding Up
Calamos founder and manager John Calamos Sr. on convertibles' performance in the recent volatile market and how to dampen volatility in emerging markets with a convertibles strategy.

• Calamos: Still a Valuation Gap in Convertibles

Arnott on Whether TIPS Can Fully Mitigate Inflation
TIPS are a good, low-risk way to hedge against inflation, but the CPI measure they are based on is less than perfect, says Research Affiliates' Rob Arnott.

Murky Outlook for Bonds
BlackRock's Curtis Arledge, Franklin Templeton's Michael Hasenstab, and Fidelity's Christine McConnell discuss the shifting dynamics of credit risk

Romick: Not the Same Opportunity in High Yield
The FPA Crescent manager on the fund's high-yield stake today versus a year ago, the issues of overleveraged consumers and governments, and the themes at work in the fund today.

Investing Strategies
Prepare for Downturns in Retirement
Investor Solutions founder Frank Armstrong thinks retirees need ten years worth of retirement income saved up as a buffer against economic downturns.

Asness on Mixing Value with Momentum
The AQR founder and manager on AQR Global Equity's process and the difficulty of momentum investing through the downturn.

• Asness on the Outlook for Diversified Arbitrage

Romick: Three Themes Driving the Portfolio Today
The FPA Crescent manager discusses three themes at work in the fund today: energy, health care, and subprime whole loans. Plus, Romick describes how the go-anywhere fund fits in a portfolio.

Forester Playing Defense Again
After sheltering fundholders in the 2008 downturn, Forester Value's Tom Forester is becoming more cautious in 2010.

Arnott on the Case for Fundamental Indexing
Research Affiliates' Rob Arnott illustrates the points of the fundamental indexing strategy and answers criticisms that say it's simply a value-tilted approach.

Calamos: Manage Risk With Convertibles
Calamos doesn't consider convertibles to be an asset class; rather, he sees them as a risk-management strategy.

One Thing Investors Can Control
T. Rowe Price senior financial planner Christine Fahlund on gaining flexibility and control over an uncertain future tax environment.

Overcoming Your Irrational Lizard Brain
Mean Markets and Lizard Brains author Terry Burnham on how to control your worst instincts.

• Q&A with Burnham

The Fund/Finance Industry
Vanguard's McNabb: We Have Our Work Cut Out for Us
The financial services industry needs reform and a little empathy to regain the trust of investors, said Vanguard chairman and CEO F. William McNabb III.

• McNabb: ETFs Help Expand Reach of Indexing
• McNabb on the Hunt for Talent
• McNabb: Vanguard Won't Launch Fad Products
• McNabb: Always Apply the Five-Minute Rule

How CEFs Can Up the Trust Quotient
How the notions of simplicity, transparency, and candor espoused by Vanguard's McNabb at the Morningstar Conference can apply to closed-end funds.

Asness: Hoping They'll Forget to Sign the Reform Bill
The AQR founder and manager says he'd prefer any financial regulation be concrete in terms of rules, versus a broad power-grant to the government.

Reynolds Talks About Turning Around Putnam
Morningstar's Don Phillips sat down with Putnam President and CEO Bob Reynolds to discuss his turnaround efforts at the fund firm, the shop's absolute return funds, the 401(k) system, and financial reform.

• Reynolds: Focus on the (Time) Horizon

Morningstar's Fund Research Directors on the Big Issues Today
Morningstar's Don Phillips, Karen Dolan, Scott Burns, and Russ Kinnel on transparency, bond yields, buy-and-hold, investors' poor timing, stocks vs. bonds, hedge fund strategies in mutual funds, and more.

ETFs: What's Hot, What's Not
Analysts discuss the flash crash and trends in the ETF space.

Writing the User's Guide for ETFs
As ETF adoption continues, Morningstar's ETF team is stressing suitability and usage education

Asset Allocators Debate Target-Date Best Practices
Three of the largest target-date series managers discuss glide paths, asset-allocation choices, the behavior of retirement investors, and more.

Veteran Managers, Newer Funds
DeVaulx, Elmasry, and Corkins discuss their new ventures, their current portfolios, whether the top-down matters, and the possibility of shareholder value in Japan.

Conference Preview
A Look Back at 2009 Conference Predictions
How Davis', Gross', and Rodriguez's outlooks have been panning out over the last year.

Ones to Watch in the 2010 Morningstar Conference
Morningstar's Karen Dolan and Russ Kinnel on this year's hot button topics, including what Greece means for the wider world, strategic vs. tactical investing, bonds and retirement income, and more.