Investing

Experts from Schroders, Robeco, and Franklin Templeton advise maintaining a cautious stance on the valuation of US equities, highlighting that key interest rates are likely to decrease more slowly than market expectations.

Annually, Schroders, Franklin Templeton, and Robeco host their Investment Forum in Brussels. At this event, specialists from these three asset management firms shared their projections for the newly commenced financial year and offered insights on strategic portfolio positioning.

Amid widespread cautionary optimism, some economists say the global economy is still at risk of a recession, and that we may not be out of the inflationary woods quite yet. Guy Wagner, chief investment officer at Banque de Luxembourg Investments, or BLI, lays out the bear case.

“The fact that up to now the recession has not yet happened does not mean that it will certainly never happen,” said Wagner at a press event in Luxembourg last week. BLI manages assets worth about 15 billion euro.

Luxembourg funds continued their recovery from a slight decline in October 2023 by amounting at year-end to 5.285 trillion euros, up 5.1% over the past year,

“I’ve got to say, I’m usually skeptical of the phrase “This time is different.” More often than not, it’s not. But the persistent strength of the U.S. economy, particularly the job market, is making me think twice. Maybe this time really is different.

In an uncertain geopolitical and macroeconomic environment, Iris van de Looij has recently taken charge of investment teams at InsingerGilissen, Quintet’s private bank in the Netherlands. The bank is currently in a slightly defensive mode, but sees scope to add some more risk to its portfolio again. 

What an extraordinary month the first month of this year proved to be for the European Central Bank (ECB), indeed! To begin, this month marked the 25th anniversary of the euro’s inception. To commemorate this milestone, major newspapers across eurozone countries published an article by ECB President Christine Lagarde, among others, just before the year-end.

Markets can often be inscrutable, as seen in December’s US inflation data, which showed a rise in headline inflation to 3.4 percent, unexpectedly surpassing the forecast of 3.2 percent.

Shares have been muddling along since, in a reaction seemingly consistent with these figures. Yet, this contradicts the trends observed in recent months. 

A fresh approach to investment research that Paris-based Amundi, Europe’s only asset manager ranked in the global Top 10, adopted two years ago appears to be paying off by effectively guiding Chief Investment Officers and clients in maintaining investment discipline. “Having a disciplined way to look at the market is helpful,” Monica Defend, the head of the Amundi Research Institute, told Investment Officer in this IO Talks podcast interview.

In the private equity (PE) market, a significant shift is occurring as Limited Partners (LPs) increasingly demand the release of funds from older investments before considering new commitments. This change comes amidst a backdrop of unprecedented levels of “dry powder” - uninvested capital within PE firms.

The European Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF) industry has witnessed a remarkable surge in 2023, with assets under management reaching an unprecedented 1,563.5 billion euro. This growth was bolstered by significant estimated net inflows of 155.6 billion euro, according to LSEG Lipper data.