The Hidden Risks of Passive Investing
Passive investing is no longer just a strategy - it’s quietly reshaping markets, inflating valuations, and creating systemic risks that most investors don’t see coming.
Blackrock: Germany should put its savings to work through private markets
Germany should move its trillions of euros in savings out of banks and put them to work for its Mittelstand through private markets. That was the message from Philipp Hildebrand, vice chairman of Blackrock’s Global Executive Committee, on Thursday during the presentation of a report on the European private markets sector.
Infrastructure opportunities, from three simultaneous mega-trends
Three global mega-trends are driving global structural change and we believe they offer exciting opportunities for infrastructure investors. Digitalisation, Decarbonisation and Deglobalisation.
The myth of “free” dividends
A targeted educational intervention can break the free dividends fallacy among retail investors. The result: a lasting behavioral change that reveals how fragile—yet how malleable—the demand for dividends truly is.
Who will still want those guzzlers later on?
The bulk of US economic growth this year can be attributed to data centers. But what will all that infrastructure be worth once chips arrive that are a hundred times more energy-efficient than today’s models?
Turns out gold doesn't only go up
Two weeks ago, we wrote that gold was poised to skyrocket. Last week, it took its biggest hit in a decade. Markets have a way of humbling both investors and journalists, and few assets do it as reliably as the yellow metal.
DWS prepares private credit platform for 2026 growth phase
DWS is stepping up its ambitions in private credit, focusing on asset-based finance — lending and investment strategies secured by collateral such as real estate, infrastructure or receivables. The Frankfurt-based assetmanager is building a specialised platform to capture what it sees as the next phase of growth in Europe’s alternative investment market.
Momentum has slowed, but the appetite for green bonds remains strong
Growth in the sustainable bond market has stalled, but experts don’t foresee refinancing issues. The demand for green debt securities remains high.
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.
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?