Investment – Page 16
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FeaturesIPE Quest Expectations Indicator - October 2021
The much-feared post-summer holiday effect on COVID-19 contaminations did not materialise. The current wave started earlier and statistics are already trending down in the US, EU, UK and Japan, although still at a high level. Full vaccinations are over 60% in the EU and UK, with Japan catching up fast. Emerging markets are still significantly behind in tackling the pandemic.
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FeaturesBriefing: The sustainability missing link
Love him or loathe him, no one can doubt that Tesla CEO Elon Musk has a penchant for self-publicity and a talent for disruption in industries from automobiles to space. He has lately taken an interest in the metals and mining sector. In June, he tweeted that he would provide a “giant contract for a long period of time if you mine nickel efficiently and in an environmentally sensitive way”.
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FeaturesBriefing: Why gold is different
Why does gold behave so differently from industrial metals and, indeed, most commodities in general? Despite the obvious contrasts – such as its shininess and its use in jewellery – it is not immediately clear why this should be the case.
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FeaturesStrategically speaking: Goldman Sachs Asset Management
If you are a pension fund, insurer or sovereign wealth fund and you haven’t heard from Goldman Sachs already, it probably won’t surprise you to learn that they want to talk to you – about a variety of alternative investment opportunities they want to put your way as a potential debt or equity fund investor, co-investor or all three.
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FeaturesFixed income, rates, currencies: Market signals cloud the picture
From preliminary data, Europe’s second-quarter growth appears to have been surprisingly strong, seemingly led by services, such as strong retail sales. Supply-side problems are still constraining the goods sector generally, hitting the German economy especially, with industrial production falling more than one percentage point over the second quarter.
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FeaturesAhead of the curve: Will rising rates see value stocks win?
There is growing global anticipation that central banks are likely to increase short-term rates. The spectre of inflationary pressure on longer-term rates looms large. What does this mean for value and growth stocks? Value might be expected to come up top and growth to lose out. But this is not the whole story. We examined stock returns during several historical periods of rate increases in the US and UK to see which factor would ultimately come out on top, and when.
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FeaturesIPE Quest Expectations Indicator - September 2021
The delta variant has caused a new COVID-19 wave in many places but it is different in character from previous ones. New hospital admissions are typically from among the unvaccinated. The average age of COVID patients has also come down significantly. In western Europe, the current wave seems largely under control, albeit at higher levels in the old EU member states.
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FeaturesPrivate credit: Floating to safety
Despite inflationary headwinds, the outlook for private credit remains strong
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FeaturesBriefing: New benchmark to reduce cost of FX transactions
Among the areas of focus for a pension fund looking to cut costs are the fees charged by its asset managers, usually as an annual percentage of assets under management, plus costs for other services. As part of a cost-cutting exercise, however, foreign exchange (FX) is often neglected. But as funds increasingly invest outside their home country, FX transactions are acquiring more significance because of the need to hedge foreign currency fluctuations. And these deals can carry hidden costs.
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FeaturesPrivate credit fundraising: A record year for private-debt funds
Record amounts of capital were raised by private-debt funds in 2020 but the outlook may be less strong in the short term
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FeaturesESG & private markets: Crying out for standards
Growing awareness of ESG is fuelling pressure for definitive metrics to assess company performance
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FeaturesDigital transformation: Take advantage of the digital reset
Covid has accelerated the digital transformation across all industries. How has it contributed to new trends and opportunities in private debt and how can investors benefit?
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FeaturesAhead of the curve - Green assets: An alternative to green bonds
Policy performance bonds, in which returns are linked to ESG outcomes, would be a positive alternative to green bonds
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FeaturesStrategically speaking: Lyxor & Amundi
Lyxor has made a mark over the 20-plus years of its existence, pioneering managed accounts for hedge funds, including the first dedicated institutional managed account platform, that it created for PGGM in 2010.
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FeaturesBriefing - Growth private equity: From margin to multiple
Private equity may have a reputation for buying cheap, levering up and selling high. But with a record $30bn (€25bn) sitting in European growth vehicles, true business growth is expected to play a greater role in coming years.
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FeaturesBriefing - Energy: IEA sets net-zero target
The energy sector is the source of about three-quarters of greenhouse gas emissions at present and yet until only recently, the influential International Energy Agency (IEA), an inter-governmental group, had not produced a fully-fledged aligned pathway with the goal of limiting the rise in global temperatures to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.
