Latest from IPE Magazine – Page 349
-
Special Report
Boutique Asset Managers: The case for scale
Charles Prideaux examines how a judicious combination of scale and tailoring can help institutional investors meet the specific outcomes they need
-
Features
Is capital undervalued and equity a ‘stranded asset’?
Adam Smith reckoned that division of labour in a pin factory boosted productivity 4,800-fold: in manufacturing, division of labour led to a collapse in the cost of labour. Similarly, diversity in the intermediation of capital in equity markets – between high and low-frequency traders and investors with various time horizons – should reduce the cost of capital.
-
Features
Damned if you do, damned if you don’t
More often than not, investors are invested in some part of the food chain.And because of this they have occasionally found themselves in the dock accused of hiking up food prices through food-related commodity speculation – although research on this remains inconclusive.
-
Features
Uncertainty grows over Irish pension reforms
Irish pension funds face growing uncertainty in the current regulatory climate, with the promised revision to the minimum funding standard overdue and the introduction of sovereign annuities leaving trustees to wonder just how liable they will be for any losses incurred when using the new product.
-
Opinion Pieces
Long-term Matters: Climate a major beta risk
Last week in Istanbul, I heard the International Energy Authority’s chief economist say the world’s on track for six degrees warming by 2100. This “catastrophe for all of us” is the mother of all preventable surprises.
-
Opinion PiecesRonald Doeswijk & Laurens Swinkels, Robeco
To start this contribution on inflation, let’s open with some facts. First, central banks around the world tend to target inflation rates. In developed countries, an inflation target of 2% is not unusual. Second, since major central banks around the globe started to target inflation in the early 1980s, inflation has fallen from double-digit figures to low single digits. So, it is not that difficult to conclude that central banks’ targets are realistic and that there is hardly any reason for investors to worry about inflation in the medium term.
-
Features
Regulating Europe
Gail Moss reviews pension regulation and law changes under discussion in seven European countries
-
Features
Flyweight in benchmark knock-out
Nina Röhrbein spoke with Gregor Hirt, head of investment for the pension fund Vorsorgestiftung Schroder & Co Bank, who explains how it punches above its weight
-
FeaturesEuropean pension supervision
Dirk Broeders, Niels Kortleve, Antoon Pelsser and Jan-Willem Wijckmans assess EIOPA’s holistic balance sheet proposal
-
FeaturesThe impact of Solvency II rules
Jurre de Haan, Agnes Joseph, Siert Jan Vos, Jan-Willem Wijckmans compare Solvency II with the FTK in terms of the likely coverage ratio shortfall
-
Country Report
Austria: Focus on re-emerging Europe
Austrian institutions are finding new ways of dealing with low interest rates but are still waiting for reform, writes Barbara Ottawa
-
Features
Low beta, high benefits
The significant outperformance of apparently ‘low-risk’ stocks over time is a well-known ‘anomaly’ in investment theory. Martin Steward asks, if it is an anomaly, won’t it eventually be corrected?
-
Features
A nugget of risk reduction
Marcus Grubb summarises a new study of the diversification benefits that gold offers to a euro-based institutional investor
-
FeaturesIn defence of pro-cyclicality
Adina Grigoriu asks, is pro-cyclical risk management necessarily a cost – or can it be an unexploited source of performance?
-
Special Report
Boutique Asset Managers: Boutique snapshots
From the expense of building vital infrastructure, through choosing the right institutional partners, to reconciling the freedom to run high-conviction strategies with the challenge of selling them to suitable investors. Martin Steward speaks to a range of European asset managers about the boutique experience
-
Special Report
Boutique Asset Managers: Best of both worlds?
Charlotte Moore looks beyond the familiar story about the advantages of the multi-boutique model, and finds that setting one up is easier said than done, and that some of the supposed benefits are contested
-
Asset Class Reports
Credit: The cleanest dirty shirt
Non-financial corporate credit is perfectly poised for the macro environment, but spreads are tight – and other areas of the credit spectrum present considerable risks. Joseph Mariathasan reports
-
Asset Class Reports
Credit: Balancing out the banks
Martin Steward finds corporate bond managers tip-toeing carefully around banks’ capital structures to limit their underweights – and ramping up other sources of risk to compensate
-
Asset Class Reports
Credit: What’s in a name?
Confusing terminology aside, ‘short-duration high-yield’ looks like a compelling opportunity for low-volatility yield pick-up. Martin Steward assesses the risks, and underlines the importance of defining objectives
-
Asset Class Reports
Credit: Coupons and principles
While corporates increasingly have to turn to capital markets for funding, now is the time for investors to push their ESG requirements, writes Joshua Hughes
