Investment – Page 8
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FeaturesDid smart beta go ‘horribly wrong’?
In 2016, we published a paper titled ‘How can ‘smart beta’ go horribly wrong?’, the first in a series on the future of factor investing and other forms of so-called smart beta. Did smart beta go horribly wrong? Yes and no.
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InterviewsImpax rides the sustainability wave
One investment analyst sums up Impax Asset Management as a “pure sustainability play”. And certainly, according to founder and CEO Ian Simm, the core thesis of Impax is to “make the most of the investment opportunities offered by the transition to a more sustainable economy”. These are “on the scale of the Industrial Revolution”, Simm believes.
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FeaturesAhead of the curve: Time to automate collateral management
The resilience of financial markets has been tested several times in recent years, from the so-called ‘dash for cash’ at the start of the coronavirus pandemic in March 2020 to the spike in UK Gilt yields in September 2022.
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FeaturesQontigo Riskwatch - February 2023
*Data as of 30 December 2022. Forecast risk estimate for each index measured by the respective US, World and Emerging Markets Qontigo model variants
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FeaturesIPE Quest Expectations Indicator: February 2023
Russian attacks against Ukrainian civilians are hampered by efficient air defence. With weapons for the Ukrainian military on the way, a new offensive seems imminent. US President Joe Biden’s troubles over classified documents are a relief for Republicans. The threat of a US-EU trade conflict over China is growing as both sides retreat into nationalistic behaviour. In the UK, Conservatives are under threat of predicted historic losses, while Prime Minister Rishi Sunak so far has done nothing to repair relations with the EU.
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FeaturesEuropean Commission announcement brings some clarity to derivatives clearing
Many unanswered questions linger after the departure of the United Kingdom from the European Union. However, a recent announcement by the European Commission (EC) promises to bring some much-needed clarity to the derivatives market.
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FeaturesESG: Germany’s energy options
The country’s reliance on Russian gas means its change of energy sources will carry a larger environmental cost
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InterviewsNewton’s Euan Munro: Seeking the best of both worlds
Euan Munro has built a formidable reputation in asset management, developing a major multi-asset absolute return strategy at Standard Life Asset Management in the 2000s. But the fortunes of his once mighty Global Absolute Return Strategy (GARS), now managed by Abrdn, have wavered as multi-asset strategies have fallen out of favour.
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FeaturesAhead of the curve: Is small cap the next mean reversion trade?
By now, most investors have noticed a rebound in value relative to growth in equity markets. After underperforming growth over the past decade, value stocks are experiencing strong mean reversion and outperforming significantly.
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FeaturesQontigo Riskwatch - January 2023
*Data as of 30 November 2022. Forecast risk estimate for each index measured by the respective US, World and Emerging Markets Qontigo model variants
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FeaturesIPE Quest Expectations Indicator - January 2023
Better air defence and the ground freezing over are steadily improving the outlook for Ukraine’s forces, now locked in stalemate. A series of blunders haunts US Republicans in general and Trump in particular. If Biden’s stimulus package is enacted, it will counteract Fed policy, possibly prolonging the series of interest rate increases. The EU seems to have bought too much gas. It has agreed to take border measures against some products from climate change laggard countries.
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InterviewsMirova’s Philippe Zaouati: realistically optimistic
Asset management CEOs tend to be a clever bunch, but there cannot be many who are familiar with the work of Antonio Gramsci, the 20th century Italian socialist philosopher.
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FeaturesUS dollar strength and the issues facing institutional investors
Most central banks across the world are raising interest rates – some more aggressively than others – but it is proving hard for any of them to out-hike the US Federal Reserve. The resulting widening interest rate differentials have been an important factor in the appreciation of the US currency.
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FeaturesUK fiduciary managers wrangle with LDI fallout
UK Gilt yields rose throughout 2022, even before September’s well-publicised spike caused by the unfunded mini budget. Fears of global inflation, exacerbated by the energy crisis and geopolitical uncertainty following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, took UK 10-year yields from around 1% in January to 3% in mid-September.
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FeaturesAhead of the curve: Recalibrating alternative allocations for a new market
Geopolitics, inflation, and central bank policy have agitated financial markets in 2022, leaving returns and diversification in short supply. A comparison of global equities and bonds provides a sense of just how challenging the results have been.
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FeaturesQontigo Riskwatch - December 2022
*Data as of 31 October 2022. Forecast risk estimate for each index measured by the respective US, World and Emerging Markets Qontigo model variants
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FeaturesIPE Quest Expectations Indicator: December 2022
The Ukrainian offensives look to have petered out and a new initiative will be needed to maintain morale. The US government is once again gridlocked and another debt ceiling fight is likely. The EU seems ready even for a harsh winter, but there are signs of war fatigue. In the UK, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has apparently learned from the Liz Truss debacle, quickly making the necessary political U-turns, in particular on climate change. Expectations for the COP27 meeting in Sharm El-Sheikh were low. Analyst views indicate increasing belief that the wave of interest rate increases is receding.
