Private-credit LPs told to worry about returns, not cockroaches
The problem with private credit is not that it might blow up the financial system. It’s that it might just not be a very good investment.
Passive by default: is euro credit sleepwalking through a shifting landscape?
Euro credit is often treated as the quiet corner of portfolios – stable, low maintenance, and easy to overlook. That assumption is under pressure. Structural biases and shifting market dynamics are making passive exposure harder to justify.
Chart of the week: 海 市 蜃 楼
The title of this column is the Chinese word for “mirage” or “illusion.” Hot air, in other words. Just like the impressive Chinese growth figure that was proudly announced this week.
Morningstar: Candriam versus Robeco in global high yield bonds
During the third quarter of 2025, investors who assumed moderate credit and duration risk were rewarded, as the European Central Bank kept interest rates unchanged at its July and September meetings, while the U.S. Federal Reserve cut rates once in September.
Vive la France!
Last week, the French government survived two motions of no confidence, mainly by promising not to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64 for the time being. For S&P, however, this was reason enough to downgrade France’s credit rating from AA- to A+. It may seem like a minor detail, but for managers of fixed income funds that require at least AA-rated investments, it created an immediate problem. Did all those French government bonds suddenly need to be dumped?
Why water investments are struggling
Disrupted supply chains, volatile market conditions, and lagging investments have made investing in the water theme challenging. In recent years, European investors have withdrawn billions from water funds.
Last wave of traditional managers embraces the active ETF model
As active ETFs grow beyond niche status, some of the last traditionally active managers, including Columbia Threadneedle and M&G, are entering the European market with strategies that blend research conviction and daily oversight.
‘Nature-based solutions are where renewable energy was 15 years ago’
Triodos Investment Management is betting that nature-based solutions, still a niche segment, will mature into a full-fledged asset class within the next decade.
Hardly any insurers still invested in government bonds
Driven by steadily declining yields and increasingly strict capital requirements, Dutch, Belgian, French, and German insurers have in recent years largely divested from government bonds. The freed-up capital has mainly been invested in corporate bonds and private debt.
How investors engage with Natural Capital- a study
In this report we explore how natural capital is being framed within portfolios, the role of farmland as a tangible entry point, expectations around return and impact, and the barriers and enablers shaping this emerging asset class.