Investment Officer Netherlands

Now that the US SEC has placed most digital assets, including cryptocurrencies, outside its oversight, chair Paul Atkins said the “brake on innovation” that the market watchdog had become under Gary Gensler is disappearing.

If there is one thing that characterizes the investment world, it is that it is full of clichés, parrots, and an enormous reluctance to change. It is sometimes laughable how market experts produce the same one-liners for twenty years or bury you under their “market wisdom.”

Blackrock is an established behemoth with total assets that easily overwhelm its closest rivals, while UBS Asset Management is rebuilding following the acquisition of Credit Suisse Asset Management.

Faithful readers of this column know that I am deeply concerned about the politicization of the European Central Bank (ECB). Lessons from monetary history and piles of academic research support that concern: we simply know that a central bank that listens to what politicians want is bad news for inflation in the medium term.

An Irish long-term investment fund has suspended redemptions after investor withdrawals exceeded its limits, marking the first gating event in the European market and exposing the structural tension at the heart of the product.

For decades, investors have been told to balance risk with a simple formula: the 60/40 split between stocks and bonds. New research from Yale argues that approach is fundamentally flawed, leaving many savers too conservatively positioned to maximise long-term wealth.

The health care sector continues to lag behind the broader equity market, but according to sector analysts, investor pessimism is overdone. Innovation, improving earnings growth, and declining political risks could give the sector renewed momentum in the coming years.

European investors are approaching the current crisis using analytical frameworks from previous crises. According to chief strategist Mabrouk Cherouane of Natixis Investment Managers, this reflex leads to misinterpretations that directly affect asset allocation.

Neobrokers and digital banks are advancing into wealth management and are putting further pressure on margins in the sector. Firms must choose between scale or differentiation to avoid ending up in a so-called “Valley of Death.”

The gold price fell sharply on Monday morning, dropping nearly 10 percent in a short period and recording its biggest weekly loss since 1983. Higher inflation, rising interest rates, and a stronger dollar are putting pressure on the precious metal. Profit-taking also contributed, experts say.