Asset Managers

JP Morgan Asset Management looks at a globally diversified portfolio from different angles in order to achieve a better allocation. Global investing is a must. The source of equity returns is becoming less beta-driven. Active investing is now more appropriate, and themes can provide the necessary alpha. And the digital revolution continues unabated. 

“A better distribution within the traditional investment portfolio is 78 percent shares and 22 percent bonds,” DWS’s head of multi-asset Bjorn Jesch said. “Possibly with the addition of alternatives, to reduce the portfolio risk.”
 

Taking an ‘old-school’ approach to asset management, but in the positive sense of the term, is what CPB Quilvest wants to achieve. The niche asset manager based in Luxembourg and with a branch office in Belgium wants to continue to build on its strengths via a horizontal and open structure. Organic growth is paramount and open architecture is one of the pillars of the business model.

At BNP Paribas Fortis, the bank has seen its private equity business double and even triple in recent years. Corporate bonds have gradually replaced nominal government bonds, as have high yields. And they are investing more and more actively, which is linked to the rise of thematic investing.
 

The acronym ELTIF has been popping up on news sites with increasing regularity in recent months. This vehicle has failed to excite the industry since it was launched in 2015, but maybe this is changing.

At ABN Amro, clients have shifted to a higher-risk investment profile. Whereas previously the most popular profile invested mainly in bonds, this has now changed to a profile investing 55 per cent in shares, explained Richard de Groot of the bank an interview with Fondsnieuws as part of its series on asset allocation amid the current low interest rate climate. 

The average credit quality and rating of convertible bonds has improved significantly in recent years. Thanks to their convexity, these hybrid instruments, whose universe is highly diversified, are more attractive than ever in any context. They are seen as halfway between investing in bonds and equities.

This is what Emmanuel Martin (pictured), manager of the Echiquier Convexity SRI Europe fund at La Financière de l’Echiquier (LFDE), said in an interview with Investment Officer.

Although it was never a conscious decision, the fact that the DWS real estate fund Europe II is managed by three female fund managers has become “a thing,” notes Jessica Hardman of DWS. “There is still a lot to be done if the real estate and investment industry is to be open to the fact that you can pursue a career path in the industry regardless of your colour, gender or origin.“

Quietly, Luxembourg has built substantial fund investment access to the Chinese market. This was highlighted at the “Access Channels” roundtable at Luxembourg for Finance’s China Finance Forum 2021. With Chinese markets being some of the fastest growing in the world, little wonder the appeal to global asset managers of this market via the Luxembourg route is strong.

Renowned investor Michael Burry has taken a short position on Tesla and is aiming for an inflationary environment in the coming years.