ESG is losing its shine but gaining weight
Once seen as compliance or ideology, ESG is becoming part of ordinary risk management. Interviews with asset owners, managers and analysts in Amsterdam, the UK and the Netherlands show how sustainability is increasingly embedded in long term investment strategies.
Chart of the week: valuation issues
Stocks are extremely expensive, so it’s just a matter of time before the markets collapse. The next mega market crisis already has a name: the bursting of the AI bubble.
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.