The BEAT with Ben featuring Rui de Figueiredo

August markets were shaped by a more hawkish Federal Reserve, flatter yield curves, and strong performance across spread sectors. Emerging market debt, high yield bonds, and leveraged loans outperformed, while investment grade credit remained stable. The Broad Markets team discusses where they see opportunities across global fixed income markets amid tight valuations and rising policy uncertainty.

Free cash flow (FCF) is central to evaluating large technology companies, especially the hyperscalers, where surging investments have squeezed FCF. We define FCF, show where each company stands on results and forecasts, and ask if heavy investment has shifted them in the life cycle. Returns on the marginal dollar invested have varied widely. We link FCF to ROIC: negative FCF is fine provided ROIC exceeds the cost of capital. We end with how consensus estimates for key value drivers have changed.

Morgan Stanley Investment Management (MSIM) today announced the final close of the inaugural North Haven Growth & Innovation Fund (NHGIF or the Fund), oversubscribed with $1.3 billion in capital commitments.

Morgan Stanley Investment Management (MSIM) today announced an effort to convert eight municipal bond mutual funds into seven newly created exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and one existing ETF, representing nearly $10 billion in assets under management as of August 31, 2026.