Investing

With almost all indices worldwide at record highs and US stock markets doubling in value after the March 2020 low following the Covid-19 crisis, the risk of a correction is increasing, according to European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the European stock market watchdog, in a statement released yesterday. 

Investing in green property not only has social added-value, but also reduces the financial risk in the property portfolio. Experts warn that outdated, non-sustainable buildings are in danger of becoming unlettable. 

In 2008, the ECB changed its approach to a “full allotment” system. “Those apparently meaningless words explain why the savings interest rate is currently zero percent. It is also a benchmark to watch for when the savings interest will rise again.

“The relative performance of emerging markets versus developed markets is in cycles. At the moment we are in a downward cycle. Today almost everyone is negative, but certainly in China there are companies with huge cash flows that are very innovative and offer opportunities for an active manager,” said Gino Delaere (photo), emerging markets specialist and fund manager at Econopolis, from Singapore, where he has been living and working for years.

“The United States remains the place to be for investors, despite the significant outperformance in recent years. Nowhere are you better served as an equity investor. For emerging markets, caution is especially necessary after the recent debacles in China.

It is better to reduce overweight positions to neutral and wait until the fog lifts. Especially in China,” investment strategist, consultant and author Jan Longeval of Kounselor Consulting BV told Investment Officer in a recent conversation.

“Risks in real estate markets were on the rise” in 2020 according to the recently-published annual report by the CSSF financial regulator. A range of indicators point to the increased level of debt across the Luxembourg economy and with it, the risks to local lenders. This has driven the CSSF to act to reduce vulnerabilities. 

Financial services firms have paid attention as a variety of mostly-American-owned digital companies have gained increasing market share, a trend that has increased notably during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Since Amazon is one of the best-known of these firms, those who want to emulate its success have dubbed the process “Amazonisation”, a concept explored in more detail by a Luxembourg for Finance session held earlier this year.

To increase the range of responsible and sustainable solutions available to investors, Invesco launched the Solar Energy UCITS ETF this month. But surprisingly, even this ETF is only “light green”, under the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR).

In April this year, Auréus launched the Equities Blue Chips fund. The fund is in Morningstar’s highest rated percentile for sustainable funds. “That is amazing. The fund is not labelled as sustainable, and just this one is in the top percentile,” said Auréus’s Chief Commercial Officer Han Dieperink in an interview with Fondsnieuws, Investment Officer Luxembourg’s sister publication (for whom Dieperink writes regular commentary articles).

The bond market is in the doldrums. The value of the world’s negative yielding debt has risen to more than USD 16,000 billion, the highest level in six months. Yet not every bond investor is worried about negative yields.