'Recovery fund gamechanger for European equities'
Agreement on the European coronavirus recovery fund could be a “gamechanger” for the European Union, according to Vincent Juvyns (photo). It’s his main reason to be a bit more positive about European stocks again.
The Global Market Strategist at JP Morgan Asset Management is “very impressed” with the European approach to tackle the impact of the virus. Although a final agreement has yet to be reached, the fact that Germany is taking the lead in this strengthens his confidence this will happen soon.
State Street survey finds return of investor optimism
Most institutional investors expect there to be minimal impact on their business from the coronavirus crisis, even though three in ten say their daily investment-related operations were disrupted by the volatility. These are the key findings of State Street’s ‘Volatility Study 2020’ – seen exclusively by investmentofficer.lu – which surveyed 640 mainly insurance and pension funds in April.
Quintet to centralise operations in Luxembourg
Quintet Private Bank is planning to merge its European subsidiaries into one business unit based in Luxembourg. Approval has been requested from local supervisory authorities.
Investor confidence recovers swiftly
State Street’s Global Investor Confidence Index increased to 94.3 points in June, more than 20 points higher than the low it reached at the height of the coronavirus crisis in April. European investors are most upbeat.
The confidence of European investors rose more than 11 points to 119.7, meaning the majority of investors on the continent are increasing their allocations to risky assets. Asian investor confidence moved backed to neutral, rising 18.6 points from its May reading.
ESG and value funds launched in wake of pandemic
Vanguard and UBS have launched ESG funds, taking advantage of the increased popularity of sustainable investing in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. Orchard Capital Management, by contrast, sees the deep unpopularity of value stocks as the perfect opportunity to launch a US value small cap fund…
166% growth for LuxFlag’s ESG fund labels
ESG is becoming mainstream at an incredible pace. This is witnessed by the 166% growth in awarded ESG-labels for investment products by not-for-profit organisation LuxFlag over the past twelve months, says its general manager Sachin Vankalas in an interview with Investment Officer.
Luxembourg fund assets recover in April
Total assets invested in Luxembourg-domiciled investment funds rose by 6.11% in April, taking the amount of assets invested back to €4.4 trillion. This is roughly the same level as a year earlier.
Dramatic reshuffle for S&P Low Volatility Index
The S&P 500 Low Volatility Index, consisting of the 100 least volatile stocks in the index, was rebalanced last week. The outcome? No less than two thirds of the index has changed. Healthcare is now the largest single sector in the index.
While the annual rebalancing of the S&P 500 index yielded virtually no changes in its composition, that’s very different for the S&P 500 Low Volatility Index - which is rebalanced on a quarterly basis.
Fund managers expect new market correction
Two in three fund managers think we are still in a bear market, the latest Bank of America Fud Manager Survey shows. They expect another market correction later this year, most likely caused by a second wave of Covid-19 infections.
Foreign investors dump Treasuries
Several countries drastically reduced their exposure to US government bonds in March. Treasuries worth $256.6 billion were sold, according to data published by the US Treasury.
According to analysts, the outflow was mainly driven by the fact that a number of emerging countries needed the money to support their own currency. The most important sellers were Saudi Arabia, Brazil and India. Saudi Arabia sold the most with $25.3 billion, but still owns $159 billion worth of Treasuries.