All Guest Viewpoint articles – Page 5
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Opinion Pieces
Viewpoint: ESMA’s latest shot at ‘pre-hedging’ must now bring a clear set of rules
With a direct and significant impact on the prices that pension and other funds receive for the securities they buy and sell, pre-hedging is a key market cleanliness issue with broad implications for the investment industry, but also the end-investor and the public at large. It should not be overlooked this time around for it could become a LIBOR moment for market confidence.
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Opinion Pieces
Guest viewpoint: Diversification and dislocation in a place called dystopia
What happened to my free lunch? They told me that diversification was there for the taking, yet there has been no zig to my zag. They promised me downside protection, but all I see is red. They said liquidity was a benefit, but never mentioned the bid/ask spread. Welcome to dystopia in the era of dislocation.
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Opinion Pieces
Viewpoint: Consolidation in UK pensions market – what are the options?
Will there be an increase in pension scheme consolidation in the UK market and will it lead to increased investment in alternative ESG assets? Consolidation could provide the collateral to invest in greater ESG assets.
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Opinion Pieces
Viewpoint: Ageing demographics challenge Germany’s PAYG state pension system
Germany has a well-established occupational pension system, but participation among employees is only about 50% overall, and in the significant SME segment only 30%
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Opinion Pieces
Guest viewpoint: Let’s make ESG real, and call out the fakes
Environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing has become pretty much mainstream. At its ideological base is the belief that a capitalist economy and polity that seeks the well-being of its middle class can achieve positive change by mobilising investment flows – in particular, that environmental protection and social justice can come about by correcting where investments are channelled.
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Opinion Pieces
Viewpoint: Irredeemably irrational – why using IRR to benchmark and pick funds makes no sense
With the continuing proliferation of managers, strategies and funds, wouldn’t it be wonderful if there was one simple metric that could help determine which to back (and which to avoid)? The good news: there is. The bad news: you’re probably not using it.
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Opinion Pieces
Viewpoint: Impact investing – socially responsible investing reimagined
Investment in support of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) has more than doubled over the last two years. Yet impact investing has aroused skepticism.
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Opinion Pieces
Viewpoint: Five myths about alternative investments
Alternatives can help investors pursue their goals by being a source of new opportunities
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Opinion Pieces
Guest viewpoint: Pension funds and the EU’s sustainability agenda
The European Commission’s Sustainable Finance Strategy, published in summer 2021, sets out how it will support the EU Green Deal and Europe’s transition to carbon neutrality by 2050.
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Opinion Pieces
Viewpoint: The realisation of private asset illiquidity risk
The divergence in performance between asset classes over the first half of 2022 has been extreme.
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Opinion Pieces
Viewpoint: Definition conundrum not a reason to ditch ESG
The difficulty of measuring ESG criteria should not be a reason to ditch the term altogether, according to the Dutch pension federation
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Opinion Pieces
Viewpoint: Trustees should treat biodiversity as important as carbon emissions
Biodiversity loss carries the same level of existential threat as carbon emissions
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Opinion Pieces
Viewpoint: Overlaps in judgement
Many investors believe markets to be cyclical and search for signs of cycles in an attempt to predict which investment styles are coming into and out of favour
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Opinion Pieces
Viewpoint: How to fix the three ‘mega-gaps’ facing the UK economy
Planting the seeds of long-term growth now by focusing on age, carbon and infrastructure is how we can ensure our economy gets back on track
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Opinion Pieces
Viewpoint: Where now for the stock/bond correlation?
This key portfolio parameter may be changing due to challenging market conditions
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Opinion Pieces
Viewpoint: The frequency of infrequent events
Why covenant support remains at the heart of pension member security
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Opinion Pieces
Viewpoint: Investing in the future through the voluntary carbon market
Net zero transition strategies take time, and some remaining emissions may still be inevitable
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Opinion Pieces
Fiduciary managers must do better on ESG transparency
What sets one fiduciary manager apart from another? These days, it is increasingly hard to tell between the leaders. As a fiduciary manager myself, this view may seem counterintuitive but it seems to me that this part of the investment world is getting less distinct in its capabilities, resources and even its messaging.
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Opinion Pieces
Viewpoint: Global custody for pension schemes – are you paying more than your neighbour?
The landscape for custodians has changed significantly