Research: country-based real estate funds outperform
When investing in unlisted real estate, funds that focus on a single country or on a separate sector within a country outperform funds that diversify across countries and/or sectors, according to a Cambridge University study. By contrast, real estate funds that focus purely on one sector do not outperform diversified funds. This research was named the best of 2021 by industry body Inrev.
Interest rate hike will burst tech bubble
It is not a question of whether the tech bubble will burst, but when, Amundi CIO Pascal Blanqué warned again. According to him, the bubble will burst as soon as interest rates rise.
Blanqué spoke about this during the outlook for 2022 that he, deputy CIO Vincent Mortier and head of research Monica Defend presented to journalists on Wednesday.
European equities preferred to US equities
The US stock market is always more expensive than other markets. However, America’s premium over Europe is now so high that betting on Europe may be a better option for investors, according to Joost van Leenders, who explained Van Lanschot Kempen’s outlook during a recent interview by Fondsnieuws, Investment Officer Luxembourg’s Dutch-language sister publication.
Eat or be eaten continues in asset management
The consolidation battle in the asset management world continues unabated. American firm T. Rowe Price has bought credit manager Oak Hill Advisors for USD 4.2 billion in cash and shares. In addition, private equity parties GTCR LLC and Reverence Capital Partners have acquired Wells Fargo Asset Management.
EM investing: no confidence in China
Investors in emerging markets should completely ignore the 60 per cent worst performing companies when defining their investment universe. These companies bring extra risk, without rewarding you for it. In addition, investing in China is very different at the moment: great opportunities are better left aside in some cases.
A 31% ytd return? Just a matter of "common sense"
How do you achieve a year-to-date return of more than 31 per cent? “Well, common sense. That is our only strategy. We have no more information than the market. We don’t use a complex box with all kinds of variables”, said Theo Vermaelen, one of the four managers of the Buyback USA Fund.
Pimco looks for alternatives to public credit
Bond investor Pimco is also increasingly looking to alternatives to traditional bond categories. The fund house sees attractive income-generating opportunities in real estate and private credit and plans to continue investing in these areas.
That is what Pimco wrote this week in its outlook for the coming years. The asset manager, which invests primarily in bonds, recommends working with flexible mandates in order to be able to make use of the full range of fixed-income opportunities.
NN IP: continuing to serve the market post-merger
NN Investment Partners remains committed to serving its fiduciary clients in the best possible way, while continuing to do so with a local office and with people who know the local market as well as the laws and regulations. Satish Bapat, NN IP’s CEO, explained this in response to questions about the impact of the Goldman Sachs’ takeover on its customers, such as pension funds.
16bn VLK mandate goes to BNP Paribas custodian
The Dutch private bank Van Lanschot Kempen has engaged BNP Paribas Securities Services as custodian for, among other things, custody, investment administration of the funds branch and custody and clearing activities for the bank. It concerns a mandate of EUR 16 billion in total.
ABN: blockchain could lead to protocol economy
The emergence of distributed ledger technology (DLT), of which blockchain is a form, could bring about a shift from a platform economy to a protocol economy. In this, data is the key to the economy, explained Ralph Wessels of ABN Amro in an article published by his employer on tokenisation, part of a three-part series on cryptocurrencies published by the bank.