WTax: Vivendi case shows it pays to watch your tax exposure
Standardized tax recovery processes often miss non-routine events, such as spin-offs. The Vivendi case highlights why fund managers should actively review all forms of cross-border withholding tax exposure.
Morningstar: MFS vs. Maj Invest in Global Large-Cap Value Equities
After years of underperformance, European equities are finally stepping out of the shadow of their U.S. counterparts in 2025. Investors began the year skeptical about Europe, but sentiment shifted—thanks in part to a German proposal to invest heavily in infrastructure and defense.
Morningstar: Loomis Sayles versus Ninety One in global emerging markets corporate bonds
Emerging-market corporate bonds slumped in early 2025, yet analyst-rated strategies from Loomis Sayles and Ninety One stand out for experienced teams, disciplined risk-taking, and distinct approaches amid rising global uncertainty.
Morningstar: Lord Abbett versus Neuberger Berman in USD high yield
The US economy contracted at a rate of 0.3 percent in the first quarter of 2025. The slowdown in GDP growth was driven by a surge in imports, as US firms attempted to front-run tariffs. The first-quarter decline marks a sharp turn for the economy after GDP grew at a 2.4 percent annual rate in the fourth quarter of 2024.
Morningstar: Impax vs. Pictet in ecology funds
Sustainable investing has been under pressure for some time, not least due to the policies of U.S. President Donald Trump. This shift in sentiment has also hit ecology funds hard.
Morningstar: DWS vs. Flossbach von Storch in flexible allocation funds
Morningstar’s flexible allocation category includes a diverse group of funds with largely unconstrained mandates. These strategies typically have significant leeway to adjust weightings between equities and bonds and to incorporate alternative asset classes into the mix. Private markets have recently garnered more attention, and the rally in gold hasn’t gone unnoticed by investors either.
Morningstar: Candriam versus AXA in global high yield bonds
During the first quarter of 2025, the European Central Bank and the Bank of England cut rates as inflation fell, and markets reacted positively to an announced 1 trillion euro package for defense and infrastructure spending in Germany. Shorter-duration bonds outperformed longer-duration bonds—paving the way for high-yield fare, which typically has a shorter duration than investment-grade fare.
Morningstar: Neuberger Berman vs Pimco in emerging market debt
Emerging markets struggled in the first quarter, but Neuberger Berman and Pimco’s global emerging market bond strategies still shine. One with conviction, and the other with diversification.
Morningstar: GuardCap vs. Fundsmith in global equities
The 2025 stock market got off to a turbulent start. The once unwavering confidence in U.S. equities—particularly the Magnificent 7—is beginning to show cracks. At the same time, European and Chinese stock markets have surged out of the gate, a scenario few investors anticipated at the end of 2024, given the prevailing narrative of American exceptionalism.
Loyens & Loeff: New guidance on ‘investor influence’ under AIFMD
New BaFin draft guidelines clarify that investor involvement in asset-level decisions risks disqualifying a fund as an AIF under EU rules—a shift with implications far beyond Germany, writes Sebastiaan Hooghiemstra at Loyens & Loeff.