Tjibbe Hoekstra

In the aftermath of the surprise Democrat win in the Georgia Senate run-offs earlier this month, 10-year Treasury yield surged above the 1%-mark. It seemed investors were anticipating a large fiscal stimulus by the incoming Biden administration. But Nick Maroutsos, head of global bonds at Janus Henderson Investors, does not believe rates will go up much further from here.

The low-yield environment in the developed world has also lowered Western investors’ return expectations from emerging market debt. As a consequence, projects requiring joint financing by the government and private investors now meet the latter’s return requirements, says Invesco’s Wim Vandenhoeck.

The dividend yield is often the first thing a manager of a dividend fund looks at when analysing a stock. But not Ludwig Palm, manager of Flossbach von Storch – Dividend  fund. His main focus is whether a company is able to increase its dividend in the long term.

Labeling existing investment funds as ‘sustainable’ or ‘ESG’ rather than launching a new fund is increasingly popular among asset managers. In the third quarter of 2020 alone, Morningstar counted 32 such rebrands.

The impending economic recovery may well mean the big tech stocks will cede their market leadership for the time being. But the FAMAG stocks remain attractive on a long-term basis, says Julian Cook, portfolio specialist for US equities at T. Rowe Price. Apart from one though.

The US Bloomberg Barclays High Yield Index has already risen by more than 30% since its low in March. But the big rally is now over, with the remaining opportunities now primarily in reopening trades and rising stars, according to Walter Kilcullen, manager of the Legg Mason Western Asset US High Yield Fund.

Many people will continue to work partly from home until after the pandemic is over. This reduces demand for office space. At the same time, however, the function of offices is changing. This means office space will continue to be in demand, and mainly at prime locations, says Richard Gwilliam, head of property research at M&G Real Estate.

The dollar will depreciate by another 10-15% over the next 3 to 5 years as the election of Joe Biden as the 46th president of the United States has drastically reduced the risk of a trade war, according to currency strategist Aaron Hurd of State Street Global Advisors.

In recent years it has been impossible for global equity funds to beat the index without a substantial allocation to the FAMANG stocks. But the Global Disruptive Opportunities fund of CPR AM, a boutique of Amundi, has done it. We asked fund manager Wesley Lebeau how.

Investors in Asia cannot ignore the large technology stocks, according to David Raper, manager of the Comgest Growth Asia Pacific ex Japan fund. But there are other trends investors in the region can benefit from, such as China’s planned switch to gas.