Investment Officer Global

Open defiance from Stephen Miran underscores political tensions at the Fed, though markets still expect gradual easing.

Van Lanschot Kempen is preparing to enter the active ETF market through a new partnership with State Street Investment Management. The Amsterdam-based boutique, known for its smallcap and euro credit strategies, will rely on State Street’s infrastructure and distribution networks to launch its first exchange-traded funds within six to nine months.

At ALFI’s private assets conference in Kirchberg, policymakers and asset managers championed private markets as vital for Europe’s growth and as a bridge for retail investors through ELTIFs. Yet speakers also warned that education gaps, transparency issues, and regulatory hurdles could constrain the sector’s ambitions.

Once seen as compliance or ideology, ESG is becoming part of ordinary risk management. Interviews with asset owners, managers and analysts in Amsterdam, the UK and the Netherlands show how sustainability is increasingly embedded in long term investment strategies.

Amundi and BNP Paribas pursue scale and expertise through mergers, but integration challenges create uncertainty over long-term benefits for investors.

It is March 2020 and Italy is in serious trouble. Italian long-term interest rates are rising rapidly, and the spreads with other eurozone countries are widening.

The United Kingdom’s new ESG fund labels have struggled to gain traction. As Brussels prepares an overhaul of the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR), a senior Morningstar expert warns Europe not to copy London’s model.

For decades, it was an iron law for investors: in the long run, the stock market follows economic growth. A thriving economy translated into rising corporate profits and thus higher share prices. But anyone who has watched the past thirty years closely senses a growing friction with this old wisdom.