Asset Owner

As Europe seeks ways to address greenwashing, supervisors have proposed broad reforms to the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regime (SFDR). To enhance transparency, they propose stricter labelling. Together with the addition of a transition investing category, these changes could redefine sustainable investing.

This week’s overview of transfers, appointments, promotions and other career news in the international fund and asset management community includes updates from Schroders, TMF, La Française and Vistra.

European investors are eyeing the rapid price shifts in the US bond market, driven by expectations of interest rate cuts. While the rise in US government bond prices has been enticing, seasoned investors are now questioning how long this rally can last.

The first half of 2024 revealed contrasting fortunes for European asset managers as they navigate volatile markets, shifting investor sentiment, and regulatory pressures.

BlackRock and Euroclear on Tuesday announced a partnership aimed at expanding the distribution of Blackrock’s private market funds through Euroclear’s FundsPlace platform. This collaboration focuses on making private markets more accessible to a wider range of investors by utilising Euroclear’s fund distribution network.

Small-cap stocks have long underperformed their large-cap counterparts, now trading at a discount. For those with a long-term perspective, this could represent a compelling entry point, says Scott Woods, manager of the Columbia Threadneedle Global Smaller Companies fund.

China and Japan are once again on a collision course, this time over the highly strategic semiconductor industry.

As geopolitical tensions escalate and global defence spending increases, a growing number of investors are turning to defence-focused exchange-traded funds (ETFs). These funds not only provide a hedge against uncertainty but also present opportunities for capital growth.

The equity allocation of US households has risen to 60 percent. The last time stocks had this much weight in the average retail portfolio was during the ‘Dotcom’ bubble. This can leave one to conclude that a stock market crisis is imminent.

The proposed abolition of the current Non-Dom tax regime marks a significant shift in the UK’s fiscal framework. The new Labour UK government will be taking forward earlier plans to harmonise UK tax resident individuals’ taxation on the basis of their worldwide income and gains, albeit with some modifications.