All Features articles – Page 9
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FeaturesEuro peripheral spreads
Just over a decade ago, Mario Draghi, then President of the ECB, gave a speech in which he uttered the famous words: “.…the European Central Bank [ECB] is ready to do whatever it takes to preserve the euro”, a phrase often credited with hauling Europe out of the depths of its sovereign debt crisis.
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FeaturesResearch: The democratising of impact investing
Amin Rajan and Sebastian Schiele find investors are opting for more social-related investing
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FeaturesFixed income, rates & currency: defying historical norms
Another US jobs report comes in significantly above consensus. Its across-the-board strength, upward revisions to previous reports, and an unemployment rate at the lowest level since 1963, may indicate that the economy is not quite as near recession as previously surmised. And with inflation still rising, albeit slightly less fast than expected, the outlook remains cloudy.
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FeaturesCommodities show their value
The few pension schemes with an investment in commodities benefitted from this allocation in recent months. Prices in this asset class rose as the pandemic and war in Ukraine pushed up the cost of fossil fuels and re-ignited inflation while both equity and bond markets faltered.
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FeaturesCEE private equity: in search of capital
War in Ukraine is just one factor deterring investment in private equity and growth capital in Central and Eastern Europe
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FeaturesWe need better climate models to manage global warming impacts
Travelling back to the UK from Sri Lanka in July, I experienced a 10-degree temperature rise with the UK hitting over 40°C. While some people may argue that such extreme temperatures in the UK could just be a statistical anomaly, climate scientists such as Tim Palmer, Royal Society research professor in climate physics at Oxford University, who I spoke to at length on the subject, have no doubt that global mean temperatures are rising as a result of greenhouse gas emissions caused by human activities.
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FeaturesAhead of the curve: Are defensive strategies delivering?
Introducing ‘defensiveness’ to equity portfolios can take many forms. At the most explicit end of the spectrum, we can consider dialling down market exposure using derivative-based equity overlays – whether these are static protection programmes or more complex dynamically managed strategies which could even include some implicit volatility trading. At the more implicit end, promising reduced ‘downside capture’, we find a wide array of defensive long-only equity strategies.
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FeaturesAccounting: Packed agenda as ISSB takes shape
ISSB board aims to finalise its first two sustainability standards by the end of the year A consultation on the ISSB’s work priorities is planned for later this year The role of materiality in sustainability reporting remains a hotly debated topic
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FeaturesQontigo Riskwatch - September 2022
*Data as of 29 July 2022. Forecast risk estimate for each index measured by the respective US, World and Emerging Markets Qontigo model variants
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Features
IPE Quest Expectations Indicator - September 2022
The war in Ukraine is characterised by a build-up for the battle for Kherson. The result of that campaign is likely to have great political influence on both sides. Neither is capable of a surprise win, but time works against Russia. In the US, Trump’s legal troubles are serious and mounting, but any Republican successor may be even more destructive. The EU is running against time to prepare for winter. Both optimists and pessimists are over-estimating the ability of technicians to predict the future. Russia has lost the EU as a primary customer for its oil and gas. It must make up for higher distribution costs by offering significant discounts.
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FeaturesImportant role for securities services firms in ESG metrics
The focus on environment, social and governance (ESG) or sustainability investing is almost always on the front office. Fund flows, strategies and research have been centre stage. Often forgotten are the asset-servicing firms working in the wings developing solutions to help their clients evaluate, validate and comply with rules and regulations, particularly in Europe.
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FeaturesThe Dutch pension sector needs to explain why we need to move to a new system
The Dutch pension system has been recognised for many years as one of the best in the world. According to the Global Pension Index of Mercer and CFA Institute, the Netherlands has the best pension system after Iceland.
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FeaturesA flawed EU crypto regulatory framework
The EU will soon have a specific regulatory framework for crypto currencies and markets. Under proposals soon to be adopted, only crypto coins authorised in the EU will be allowed to be offered to investors. But crypto assets and exchanges will have a very light supervisory regime, much less than what is in place for financial instruments and exchanges. This raises the question about the rationale for distinct rules. This question is even more acute in the context of the big decline in the crypto markets over the past weeks.
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FeaturesSeeking clarity as stakeholders shine a light on ESG ratings
There is confusion about the objectives of ESG ratings and any regulation needs to be clear about what it is trying to achieve and for whom
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FeaturesChina calls the tune for emerging markets
If President Xi Jinping mismanages China, the careers of many emerging market asset managers could be over. It would also mean emerging markets as an asset class would become irrelevant, at least according to Xavier Hovasse, head of emerging markets at the French fund management house Carmignac, who has devoted his career to seeking opportunities in emerging markets.
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FeaturesA broader view on corporate pension disclosures
What is not to like? Finally, a principles-based approach to the disclosures in financial statements that aims to cut the clutter and home in on the material that is truly material.
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FeaturesFixed income, rates & currency: inflation battle in full swing
As we reach the midpoint of the year, there is little sign that the second half of 2022 will be any less turbulent than the first. The conflict in Ukraine slogs on – a destructive war of attrition, pain and fear. The repercussions are huge, global and unpredictable, be they surging energy prices or impending, but acute, shortages of basic foodstuffs, or of semi-conductors, so vital to 21st century life.
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Features‘Painful’ private equity fees are hard to avoid
The Netherlands’ €551bn ($576bn) civil service scheme ABP paid a record €2.8bn in performance fees to private equity managers in 2021, prompting the fund’s president Harmen van Wijnen to announce an external investigation to assess ABP’s rising asset management costs. The €277.5bn healthcare scheme PFZW paid €1.26bn in performance fees to private equity last year, accounting for two thirds of total asset management costs.
