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Capital Group and Impax are the asset management firms that won the 2022 Morningstar Awards for Excellence in Investing in Luxembourg, the investment research firm has announced. Funds managed by Fundsmith, Comgest, BlueBay and Capital Group have won individual Morningstar awards. 

There are no winners in a war, but investors who held commodities in their portfolios in recent weeks were able to limit their losses, writes Morningstar’s Thomas De fauw in his Top 5 contribution for this week. Prices for energy, metals and agricultural products have been rising. 

While US companies are generally praised for their quality, strong competitive advantages and high growth prospects, European equities are significantly less popular. Although most fund managers seem to have less faith in European equities, they are generally popular with value and dividend investors.

German Chancellor Scholz’s announcement that he is making 100 billion euro available from the federal budget to strengthen national and European defence has not missed the mark. German Rheinmetall shares extended gains on Tuesday, adding another 18 percent after to close at an alltime high of 157,20 euros, down from its 52-week average of 76.28 euros. ETFs focused on defence and aerospace have also gained since the war in Ukraine.

Growth stocks have been the apple of investors’ eye for years. Technology, software and e-commerce companies have grown imperturbably into leading billion-dollar corporations. In the wake of established names, the potential unicorns of the future sprang from the ground and eagerly took advantage of the opportunistic sentiment among investors to obtain fresh growth capital through a stock exchange listing. 

The superior performance of growth stocks, exposure to companies that are often below average on sustainability and the big impact the corona pandemic had on seemingly certain dividends has made dividend funds unpopular among investors. However, with the rotation towards value stocks under way, there is hope for a revival for income-oriented equity funds.

Quintet Private Bank today announced the launch of the “world’s first multi-asset, climate-neutral investment fund”, Essential Portfolio Selection (EPS) Quintet Earth after raising some 280 million euros in funding. This UCITS fund “combines equal exposure to green bonds and low carbon equities”. The fund offsets associated carbon emissions through reforestation activities.

La Financière de l’Echiquier’s climate impact fund has just celebrated its first anniversary. It is aimed at companies in all sectors that want to significantly reduce their emissions. The company argues that those who want to create climate impact should invest in all sectors. Even established companies can make a contribution, and a strict model is a must.

With the SRI Equity Circular Economy Fund, the Belgian asset manager Candriam has launched another impact investment fund. The launch comes exactly one year after the start of its Climate Action Fund.