volatility

Government bonds have long enjoyed a special place in investors’ portfolios. Often seen as a cornerstone of stability, their appeal as a safe haven is rarely questioned.

For five years, a group of students from Erasmus University in combination with three Robeco researchers scoured hundreds of financial newspapers from 1866 to 1926. They looked for prices, dividends and market capitalisations of almost 1500 American shares. Based on the entirely new dataset this led to, Robeco now concludes that the momentum, value and volatility (beta) investment factors also existed during those 61 years. 

“The world needs to be prepared for a debt crisis in emerging markets. Rising interest rates will draw capital away from vulnerable countries”, warned Kristalina Georgieva, director of the IMF. For the time being, not everyone feels moved by this warning, “emerging market debt is a paradise for active investors”, according to Wouter van Overfelt, senior portfolio manager EM debt at Vontobel, in an interview with Fondsnieuws, Investment Officer Luxembourg’s Dutch sister publication.

The question is whether the illiquidity of private markets is still an issue if the market becomes more volatile again. Especially when you realise that liquid markets can also become illiquid.