Asset Managers

Europe’s biggest asset manager Amundi calls on its peers in financial sector to better serve clients by stepping up efforts to bring greater clarity on the use of standards and regulations that govern responsible and sustainable investing. 

Edinburgh-based asset manager Abrdn on Wednesday said it plans to slash 500 jobs this year, or about 10% of its workforce, in a push to bring down costs and restore profitability as the industry continues to be plagued by a growing uptake of low-cost competitors and a broad switch among clients to passive investment strategies.

Republicans in the US state of New Hampshire have introduced a bill that makes the consideration of ESG criteria by sovereign wealth funds a crime. Under the proposal, this offence could be punishable by imprisonment for not less than one year and not more than 20 years.

A fresh approach to investment research that Paris-based Amundi, Europe’s only asset manager ranked in the global Top 10, adopted two years ago appears to be paying off by effectively guiding Chief Investment Officers and clients in maintaining investment discipline. “Having a disciplined way to look at the market is helpful,” Monica Defend, the head of the Amundi Research Institute, told Investment Officer in this IO Talks podcast interview.

Support from the world’s preeminent asset managers for shareholder proposals concentrating on environmental and social concerns has plummeted to an unprecedented nadir in 2023. This steep decline is predominantly attributable to Anglo-Saxon entities.

Roderick van Zuylen is prepared for the challenge. On the 1st of January, the ex-Van Lanschot Kempen portfolio manager inaugurated his own investment fund in the US: Night Watch Investment Management. “I desired a name that alluded to my Dutch heritage, yet Dike Capital and Tulip Invest were disregarded for obvious reasons.”

Several European funds have emerged in recent years that use religious principles as a basis for their investment decisions. Impact criteria, exclusions and Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) factors play a dominant role when it comes to determining the content of these portfolios, as does direct guidance from churches.

About 85 percent of Europe’s asset management activity takes place in six countries: the United Kingdom, France, Switzerland, Germany, the Netherlands and Italy, data from Efama’s 2023 Asset Management Report shows.

Kristina Hooper, chief strategist at Invesco, understands that the endless debating about interest rates seems a bit excessive, “but back in the day, investors had to guess what was going to happen to interest rates by looking at the thickness of Alan Greenspan’s briefcase”.

Goldman Sachs Asset Management wants to use more engagement to encourage companies, institutions and governments to improve sustainability reporting. “Especially on the fixed-income side, there is still a lot of room for improvement in terms of data quality and disclosure,” said Edith Siermann, chief investment officer of Goldman Sachs Asset Management b.v.