Inflation and tight spreads: bonds discouraged for 2026
Stay away next year from “long” government bonds and from corporate bonds, both high yield and investment grade. Profligate governments and poor risk-return profiles will spoil the mood in those markets.
Chart of the week: the confrontation
Market sentiment in fixed income is turning quickly. Within just a few weeks, investors and even central bankers have rotated one hundred eighty degrees. Rising inflation risk and an even greater lack of fiscal discipline are pushing yields higher. It is a nightmare scenario for politicians and the run-up to a major confrontation.
Morningstar: AllianceBernstein vs Pimco in high-yield bonds
Prudent risk management is vital in high-yield-bond investing. As this week’s Morningstar fund comparison shows, even strategies operating in the same corner of the market can diverge sharply when stress hits.
India gains recognition as diversification anchor
India is drawing fresh interest from global investors as domestic demand, rapid digitalization and a deepening capital market give it resilience few major economies can match. Emerging market specialists say these qualities are becoming increasingly relevant for diversified portfolios.
Your Investment Soundtrack: The Companies Behind BL Equities Japan
When it comes to investing, there’s never a shortage of noise—constant market updates, countless opinions, and promises of quick profits. It’s easy to lose sight of what investing truly means: owning real businesses that create lasting value.
Dividends, a compass to navigate through uncertain times
For centuries, dividends were the measure of a stock's success. Yet the past four decades saw dividend investing fade into the background as cheap credit and rising valuations rewarded speculation over cash returns.
Investors favor EM equities over those from the US in 2026
A majority of large asset managers are most optimistic about equities for 2026, particularly those from emerging markets. US equities remain a strategic cornerstone, while Europe and Japan play a smaller but growing role in geographic diversification.
Resilience in financial markets the surprise of 2025
Many fund houses mark Liberation Day—the day president Trump announced sharply higher US trade tariffs—as the standout moment of 2025, according to the Investment Officer Outlook Survey 2026. But what surprised asset managers even more was how quickly markets carried on in the months that followed, as if nothing had happened.
Building nature-positive portfolios
Alternative assets offer valuable qualities for creating nature-positive, well-diversified portfolios, providing both direct and systemic impact. In this Sustainability in Action we demonstrate how this can work in practice.
Chart of the week: big fireworks in 2026?
It’s December, and so the focus is shifting to 2026. As always, this comes with a wave of outlooks that are, unfortunately, often already partly outdated by the time the new year begins. Still, a dynamic is now unfolding that could lead to quite a bit of fireworks next year.