Jurgen Vluijmans

The emergence of inflation is particularly hotly debated at the moment. Is the current uptick in commodity and other input prices sufficient to cause an inflation surge? Opinions differ widely, as is evident from the views of various asset managers.

Insurance companies are looking to significantly increase their allocations to private equity, mid-market corporate loans and infrastructure debt, according to a survey of almost 300 firms by Goldman Sachs Asset Management (GSAM).

‘Insurers are planning to increase risk in their investment portfolios, probably by shifting liquidity to riskier asset classes,’ GSAM concludes. The asset manager calls the risk sentiment ‘decidedly positive’, due to reduced uncertainties amid the global pandemic.

Investment grade corporate bonds remain more attractive than core European government bonds, which are bound to deliver negative returns of 3-5% in the coming years, according to  Lion Trust Asset Management’s Head of Fixed Income David Roberts.

In an interview with Investment Officer, Roberts notes fixed income portfolios have become particularly sensitive to interest rates over the past decade due to a sharp increase in duration.

Le marché belge des produits durables connaît actuellement une croissance plus rapide que le marché néerlandais, qui est déjà plus établi. La gestion thématique est une branche en forte croissance dans tous les domaines, et le Luxembourg peut profiter du Brexit, car de nombreuses sociétés de gestion s’y sont installées.

The rally in commodity prices has only just started and has much further to go, according to Phillippe Gijsels, head strategist of BNP Paribas Fortis. This is due to a powerful combination of increasing demand and supply constraints due to years of underinvestment in the sector.

Looking for companies that can contribute to the decarbonisation of the European economy. That’s the mission of Echiquier Climate Impact Europe, a new impact fund of la Financière de L’Echiquier (LFDE). Remarkably, the fund mostly invests in established European companies.

The reflation trade will accelerate further under a Biden presidency, according to what Philippe Gijsels (photo), chief strategist at BNP Paribas Fortis. Commodities, EM equities, small caps and cyclicals all offer exposure to it. But that does not mean one should dump growth stocks.

A solution must be found at the European level to deal with the costs of extreme health risks such as a pandemic. This can be done by launching bond-like products that can be sold to institutional investors.

Bank Delen would like to do more acquisitions in the Benelux, says its CEO in an interview with Investment Officer. ‘The Luxembourg market is difficult though, because of the fiscal differences. So we would need to buy a local Luxembourg player with local clients. There are not many of those.’

The integration of Bank Delen’s recent acquisitions in the Netherlands is going smoothly, says Havaux. ‘The customers of Nobel Vermogensbeheer [which Delen acquired in 2019] have all moved to our funds.’

The debate between value and growth is pointless, says Guy Lerminiaux, CIO of Degroof Petercam Asset Management. ‘This is not a productive debate. You have to look at it on a company-by-company basis. In every sector you find winners and losers.’