Asset Manager

Stel je voor: je baas kan precies zien wanneer je achter je bureau zit. Hoe laat je aankomt, hoe laat je weggaat, wanneer je luncht. Klinkt als een nachtmerrie uit een dystopische roman? Voor driehonderd aandelenanalisten was dit tussen 2017 en 2021 gewoon realiteit.

Every May, a ritual unfolds in Omaha, Nebraska that I have never quite understood. Thousands of investors fly to a shareholder meeting in the middle of the American Midwest to hear a wise old man explain that smart investors can probably find better uses for their money than flying to shareholder meetings in the middle of the American Midwest.

Active asset allocation is a double-edged sword. Executed well, tactical shifts can generate alpha and differentiate from the benchmark. The trade-off is greater complexity, with more moving parts and higher demands on skill and discipline. Investors should also assess the costs of tactical allocation.

Jamie Dimon, chairman and chief executive officer of JPMorganChase, has warned that global bond markets are heading toward a crisis unless policymakers act before markets force their hand, pointing to a compounding mix of persistent government deficits, geopolitical instability and inflation pressures that sovereign debt has yet to fully price in.

A Belgian-led private fund, structured as a Luxembourg RAIF, at the center of a Dutch regulatory probe has acknowledged serious failures in governance and investor reporting, as it attempts to rebuild trust with two wealth managers whose clients were exposed to the structure.

The Iran war has broken the trend toward greater convergence between yields on European government bonds. Yields rose particularly sharply in Italy and the United Kingdom, while countries such as the Netherlands and Spain managed to limit the damage somewhat.

This week’s update on people moves includes news from Perwyn, Lalux, Clifford Chance, Alumia, and Universal-Investment.

Oil prices will have to climb much higher to stabilise global markets as disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz deepen, JPMorgan said. For import-dependent Europe, the risk of slower growth and higher inflation is rising by the day.

Every time an oil crisis occurs, the recession scenario is immediately dusted off. The oil price rises, analysts pull out their charts, and within a week the first warnings appear that a recession is inevitable. But the relationship between oil crises and recessions is much weaker than is commonly assumed.