Morningstar: BNP, Amundi mergers test investor patience
Amundi and BNP Paribas pursue scale and expertise through mergers, but integration challenges create uncertainty over long-term benefits for investors.
ECB swaps the Italy problem for the France problem
It is March 2020 and Italy is in serious trouble. Italian long-term interest rates are rising rapidly, and the spreads with other eurozone countries are widening.
UK ESG fund labels seen as poor example for SFDR 2.0
The United Kingdom’s new ESG fund labels have struggled to gain traction. As Brussels prepares an overhaul of the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR), a senior Morningstar expert warns Europe not to copy London’s model.
Sustainable government bonds beat the benchmark
Government bonds from countries that score high on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals have outperformed the global market-weighted bond index over the past three years.
Transfers: New country heads at Trustmoore and Fundcraft
This week’s overview of people transfers and appointments includes updates from Trustmoore, Quintet and Fundcraft.
The profit paradox
For decades, it was an iron law for investors: in the long run, the stock market follows economic growth. A thriving economy translated into rising corporate profits and thus higher share prices. But anyone who has watched the past thirty years closely senses a growing friction with this old wisdom.
Weak dollar brings classic FX hedging back into play
With the euro expected to strengthen further, portfolio strategies are increasingly being shaped by how much, not whether, to hedge U.S. exposures.
NRF: Navigating AI governance in insurance
European insurers face stricter guidance on AI governance after EIOPA issued its landmark Opinion, with major implications for investment managers’ due diligence and compliance strategies, writes Dorothee Ciolino at Norton Rose Fulbright.
Tokenized funds set to eclipse traditional structures
Tokenized funds will overtake traditional structures within five years, says Keyrock CEO Kevin de Patoul, citing cheaper, transparent, inevitable on-chain vehicles.
Greed is a stronger emotion than fear
The Federal Reserve last week cut interest rates from 4.25–4.50 percent to 4.00–4.25 percent and will lower rates further at the remaining meetings of the FOMC, the Fed’s policy body. This comes even as financial conditions have already improved and there is still an extraordinary amount of liquidity on the sidelines.