Investment Officer

Investment data and research provider Morningstar is acquiring full ownership of Sustainalytics, the ESG ratings agency. Morningstar already owned a 40%-stake in the company.

European regulators are trying to prevent a liquidity crisis caused by excessive outflows from investment funds in the wake of the coronavirus crisis. The CSSF has joined other European regulators in asking asset managers for large amounts of information about their ability to repay investors.

French and German financial regulators are asking for daily updates on outflows from open-ended funds, while stock market watchdogs in Luxembourg and Ireland have also stepped up their oversight, the Financial Times reported on Monday.

The CSSF is facilitating the defrauding of investors by failing to timely enforce regulation on funds, says David Mapley, director of the LFP 1 Equity Power Fund.

The Federal Reserve is by far the largest single owner of US government bonds. If the Fed continues its buy-back policy at its current pace, all US government debt will be in the hands of the central bank in less than two years’ time. That’s a good reason to sell Treasuries, says BlackRock.

A study of bear markets shows that in 70 percent of the cases stock markets fell back to a new low. In 30 percent there was a continuing recovery after a severe crash. We are probably experiencing the latter scenario now, according to BNP Paribas Fortis’ chief strategist Philippe Gijsels.

Gijsels says that the bank has been busy buying attractively priced shares and high yield bonds for clients for some time now. 

A Netflix-like environment that provides access to advice that is data-driven, personalized, continuous and preferrably subscription-based, is the future of wealth advice according to McKinsey.

Market volatility will increase as a result of a decline in share buybacks and lower earnings growth per share, warns Goldman Sachs.

David Kostin, who leads the business bank’s portfolio strategy team, writes in a note to the bank’s clients that the 51 listed companies in the S&P that have suspended their share buyback programmes account for no less than 27% of total S&P 500 share buybacks in 2019.

Stéphane Corsaletti is the new Chief Investment Officer of fund distribution platform Allfunds. The Frenchman will lead Allfunds’ recently formed digital investment solutions platform from its Luxembourg office.

Corsaletti will be part of the executive committee, reporting directly to CEO Juan Alcaraz. Launched in 2000, Allfunds is one of the world’s largest fund distributors. It offers clients access to a universe of over 125,000 funds through Allfunds Connect.

Credit markets have been hit hard across the board. ‘Exiting at normal prices is now virtually impossible because there is hardly any liquidity.’ Only ETFs can still be easily sold, resulting in dramatic price declines. Can the ECB’s latest support package restore calm?

March is not even halfway through, but has already presided over the largest fall in the price of European high-yield bonds since October 2008. The BofA European Currency High Yield Index is already in the minus 8% this month, but the unprecedented fall in prices also offers opportunities. Within Europe, I would now rather invest in Italy than the UK or Germany.