Investing

AI is going to change the world, but which companies will benefit most from that trend? Investors who put money into trends and themes such as AI look for a solid benchmark to determine the purity of their investments. The goal is high purity. That does not always work out.

Dan Ariely has devoted his career to understanding irrational behavior. According to the Duke University professor of psychology and behavioral economics, ESG investors are the perfect test group. They focus, he says, on what is easy to measure rather than on what actually matters for returns.

Stretched valuations alone are not enough to derail the equity market as long as the economic backdrop remains stable, says Johanna Kyrklund, group CIO at Schroders.

At the Deloitte Private Art & Finance Conference in New York, art investors did something almost unheard of: they dismantled the investment case for their own asset class.

The solid balance sheets and high profitability of banks provide a strong foundation for deeply subordinated bank bonds. They offer high returns at low risk.

New loan failures have reignited debate over the health of private credit. The bankruptcy of Renovo Home Partners last week has drawn warnings about the quality of the underwriting and possible systemic risks. Industry veterans push back, saying media coverage borders on sensationalism.

About a year after launching its first active ETFs, Robeco has attracted more than 1 billion euro in assets. Four of the six listed index trackers now hold over 100 million euro each—a key threshold for institutional investors.

To spot the next Tesla or Nvidia in time, Baillie Gifford is increasingly seeking growth opportunities outside the stock market. Tomorrow’s biggest winners are staying private longer, meaning most of the value creation now happens before the IPO.

Within private markets, interest in infrastructure is growing. Both ING and Rabobank are positioning this investment category as a “building block” in their private markets offerings. Goldman expects a larger asset allocation from institutional investors in the coming years.

Earlier this month, Meta announced that it would finance the construction of a new data center through debt issued via an SPV, while Oracle is setting up two debt facilities for two data centers. Investors do not see this move toward more “exotic financing” as a sign of weakness. “In a sense, we’re now seeing big tech applying the same financial discipline that has traditionally been associated with infrastructure and utility companies.”