Asset Allocation

Net like a few years ago, asset managers are once again questioning the traditional 60/40 mix between equities and bonds, as the two asset classes are no longer reacting in opposite directions to market shocks, but increasingly moving in tandem. Is the “safe” 60/40 model portfolio gradually becoming a thing of the past?

The fees private equity managers earn on successful deals are no longer just a matter of compensation. For the pension funds and insurers that bankroll the industry, the way those payouts are calculated has become a test of governance, and an increasingly important influence on where capital flows next.

Oil prices will have to climb much higher to stabilise global markets as disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz deepen, JPMorgan said. For import-dependent Europe, the risk of slower growth and higher inflation is rising by the day.

Software stocks are being repriced as investors reassess how artificial intelligence will reshape the industry. Some fund managers now argue the selloff has gone too far, even as uncertainty around long-term earnings remains unresolved.

Private equity’s model is coming under strain as exits slow, capital remains tied up, and investors are waiting longer for distributions. Rather than resolving these pressures, the industry is increasingly passing them on to individual investors, said Lucas Crasborn, chief investment officer at Optimix Vermogensbeheer, an independent wealth manager overseeing around 2.5 billion euros.

Asset owners representing 3.7 trillion dollars in capital sent a clear message to their asset managers at the end of January: stay committed to net zero. Demand for climate strategies among institutional investors in Europe remains firmly intact.

An Irish long-term investment fund has suspended redemptions after investor withdrawals exceeded its limits, marking the first gating event in the European market and exposing the structural tension at the heart of the product.

For decades, investors have been told to balance risk with a simple formula: the 60/40 split between stocks and bonds. New research from Yale argues that approach is fundamentally flawed, leaving many savers too conservatively positioned to maximise long-term wealth.

RMB bonds may offer an unexpected shelter in a prolonged oil shock, as global fixed income markets struggle to absorb a renewed inflation impulse, according to Allianz Global Investors’ Jenny Zeng.

Global shipping is slowing as surging fuel costs and mounting risks in the Persian Gulf begin to strain the industry’s finances, forcing companies to cut speeds, seek emergency credit and rethink whether voyages are still viable.