All Features articles – Page 8
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FeaturesAhead of the curve: The missing elements in the digital currencies debate
The recent contraction of the cryptocurrency markets poses questions about the viability of digital currency as an asset class for institutional investors. However, these developments have not undermined the efforts of central banks to pursue their own digital currency initiatives.
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FeaturesAccounting: The line between transparency and confidentiality
It was inevitable that the push by the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) to redefine non-financial reporting would collide with the question of just how much transparency is too much. We had something of an answer on 18 January when the board explored disclosures about the risks and opportunities that arise from climate change.
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FeaturesQontigo Riskwatch – March 2023
*Data as of 31 January 2023. Forecast risk estimate for each index measured by the respective US, World and Emerging Markets Qontigo model variants
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FeaturesIPE Quest Expectations Indicator March 2023
The next Ukrainian offensive will be in April at the earliest, as modern tanks will have arrived by then. US Republican pushback of ESG and climate-related investments are a new bone of contention in relations with the EU, already strained by the Trump presidency, and a bad sign for US-EU co-operation on China policy, an issue Japan seems to be ducking successfully. Aided by a soft winter, EU energy concerns have become quite manageable.
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FeaturesUS: SECURE 2.0 means the hard work ahead for pension plan sponsors
On one thing pretty much everyone agrees: the new SECURE 2.0 Act is very broad, complex, and will create a lot of work for US plan sponsors and retirement providers. In fact, the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement law includes over 90 different provisions.
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FeaturesIs the US heading for a soft landing?
Rare though they are in history, a soft landing for the US economy seems to be the consensus forecast, a view aided by news of a sharp contraction in the Institute of Supply Management (ISM) Services Purchasing Managers index in December. The jobs market also looks like it is slowing down and there are signs of a cooling off in wages, with lower-than-expected average hourly earnings reported in December’s non-farm payroll report.
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FeaturesFresh views on emerging markets
Despite a large, heterogeneous universe of opportunities across countries that have little or no commonality, risk contagion in the emerging market universe is still an issue, highlighted most dramatically by the 1997 Asian crisis and the risk on/risk off capital movements after the 2007-08 global financial crisis.
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FeaturesHigh yield bonds: do your homework
Last year, European bond markets were struck by a toxic a combination of geopolitical, economic and market tensions. The picture has improved with the dawning of 2023, although the markets will continue to experience bouts of volatility and uncertainty will persist. High yield is back on the agenda, but selectivity and careful analysis will be key in identifying the right opportunities.
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FeaturesDid smart beta go ‘horribly wrong’?
In 2016, we published a paper titled ‘How can ‘smart beta’ go horribly wrong?’, the first in a series on the future of factor investing and other forms of so-called smart beta. Did smart beta go horribly wrong? Yes and no.
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FeaturesResearch: Thematic investing is set to attract fresh capital
In the second article on the new Amundi-Create Research survey, Vincent Mortier and Amin Rajan highlight pension plans’ interest in thematic investing
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FeaturesAhead of the curve: Time to automate collateral management
The resilience of financial markets has been tested several times in recent years, from the so-called ‘dash for cash’ at the start of the coronavirus pandemic in March 2020 to the spike in UK Gilt yields in September 2022.
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FeaturesWill the US pushback against ESG slow global progress?
Hostility towards asset managers embracing climate action and stewardship is raising questions on both sides of the Atlantic
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FeaturesAccounting: Happy birthday to the ISSB
The International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) finds itself at a crossroads as it marks its first anniversary. On the one hand, it is redeliberating its first two sustainability standards and could finalise and issue them during the first half of this year.
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FeaturesIPE Quest Expectations Indicator: February 2023
Russian attacks against Ukrainian civilians are hampered by efficient air defence. With weapons for the Ukrainian military on the way, a new offensive seems imminent. US President Joe Biden’s troubles over classified documents are a relief for Republicans. The threat of a US-EU trade conflict over China is growing as both sides retreat into nationalistic behaviour. In the UK, Conservatives are under threat of predicted historic losses, while Prime Minister Rishi Sunak so far has done nothing to repair relations with the EU.
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FeaturesQontigo Riskwatch - February 2023
*Data as of 30 December 2022. Forecast risk estimate for each index measured by the respective US, World and Emerging Markets Qontigo model variants
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FeaturesPensionsEurope: Not all doom and gloom for 2022
After the bumper investment returns of 2021 – the best that many pension funds had ever experienced – last year’s results were disappointing.
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FeaturesResearch: Pension investing in an inflation fuelled world
Monica Defend and Amin Rajan highlight the big upheavals facing pension investors
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FeaturesESG: Germany’s energy options
The country’s reliance on Russian gas means its change of energy sources will carry a larger environmental cost
