In Depth – Page 15
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FeaturesBriefing: EU strengthens rules on green disclosure
Investment firms need to familiarise themselves with a range of new environmental issues to prepare for a European Union law aimed at consistent environmental disclosures that also support investment decisions on environmental sustainability.
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FeaturesFixed income, rates, currencies: Economies at a sensitive juncture
Another new year and we are still in a COVID pandemic, as we were a year ago, although this time with economic grow-th looking pretty robust across the world. But, despite the best efforts of healthcare workers, scientists and politicians, the virus continues to exert an unnervingly strong influence on all our lives.
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FeaturesAhead of the curve: M&A revival a potential risk to investment grade fundamentals
Following a brief but sharp decline, 2021 merger and acquisition (M&A) volumes have surpassed pre-pandemic levels as large corporations seek to gain scale and position themselves for continued growth in years to come.
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FeaturesIPE Quest Expectations Indicator - January 2022
Being sure of opinions
With all eyes on inflation, political risk is not expressed in market sentiment, perhaps with the exception of the UK. -
FeaturesBriefing - CLOs: a post-pandemic resurgence
Exactly a decade after the collapse of Lehman Brothers, the collateralised loan obligation (CLO) market was breaking records. In 2018, nearly $130bn (€113.6bn) worth of CLO paper was issued in the US and €45bn in Europe, a sign that the crisis of confidence caused by the Great Financial Crisis was over.
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FeaturesBriefing: PE fees under scrutiny
The balance of power between private equity firms and investors typically swings with the fundraising cycles.
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FeaturesStrategically speaking: IFM Investors
When IFM Investors and its fellow consortium members cracked open the bubbly last month on their successful bid for Sydney Airport following a third revised offer, it marked a bet on a vigorous and sustained recovery in passenger aviation. After all, airports globally, including Sydney, had come to resemble “parking lots for planes”, in the words of IFM Investors CEO David Neal.
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FeaturesFixed income, rates, currencies: Policy normalisation kicks in
Although several emerging market (EM) central banks have been hiking rates for a few months already this year, particularly in Latin America, it was only in the third quarter of 2021 that the global share of central banks raising official rates moved above 50%. This is the first time in three years that this has been the case, as several developed market central banks joined emerging market counterparts to tighten rates.
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FeaturesAhead of the curve: Factors in political change
The evacuation of US and coalition troops and civilians from Afghanistan and the Taliban takeover in August prompted us to examine other episodes of regime change and how equity markets reacted.
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FeaturesIPE Quest Expectations Indicator - December 2021
IPE’s sentiment statistics for 2021 are highly unusual. First, they were moving closely together, with one exception only – confidence in Japanese bonds remained an outlier throughout the year, with the gap with other areas increasing steadily.
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FeaturesBriefing: UK fiduciary management
In 2019, the UK government introduced reforms to the investment consultancy and fiduciary management sector. That followed a review by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) that identified competition problems.
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FeaturesBriefing: Dutch fiduciary management
A new pensions agreement between the Dutch cabinet and social partners last year requires nearly all Dutch pension funds to switch to a new defined contribution (DC) contract. It includes a lifecycle system and personal pension pots. The idea is to combine collective and individual components in one pension agreement.
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FeaturesBriefing: Insurance-linked securities
Hurricane Ida in late August and early September caused great damage to the southern coast of the US. Fortunately, for people in this area, insurance policies often cover destructions to their properties. Since covering such damage can lead to severe losses for insurance companies, they are keen to reinsure themselves.
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FeaturesAhead of the curve: The good, the bad and the ugly of momentum investing
Last year proved a remarkable one for momentum strategies. The tech giants that had done so well in recent years continued to outperform at the beginning of 2020, and the same high momentum names were further buoyed by investors’ preference for the digital over the physical economy with the onset of COVID-19.
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InterviewsStrategically speaking: Finreon
Established 12 years ago as a spin-off from Switzerland’s renowned University of St Gallen, Finreon is a quant asset management specialist that styles itself as an investment adviser and a think tank. It has recently weighed into the debate on portfolio decarbonisation with a novel solution for listed equities.
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FeaturesFixed income, rates, currencies: Simmering tensions bubble up
After a reasonably peaceful summer – relative to the many previous volatile ones for capital markets, that is – simmering tensions are bubbling over, affecting many financial asset classes.
