Deeper Thought

Despite recent China woes, emerging markets are poised to enjoy a growth advantage over developed peers, creating opportunities for investors across all major asset classes. Countries in Latin America are paving the way for a bout of monetary policy easing in the second half of the year; the prospect of lower interest rates has helped…

“A central bank pause supports the case for bonds. Investors will have to assess the inflation path and the earnings outlook moving into 2024, in the search for opportunities in equities.” – Monica Defend, Head of Amundi Institute ” Emerging markets are key to enhancing diversification and fostering medium-term return potential, with Asia in focus.”…

For this mid-year outlook, the theme continues to be the attractiveness of investments beyond cash including fixed income, equities and alternatives. We give you our Institute perspective for the second half of 2023, with our ongoing conversations with our investment teams driving the narrative. The major highlights are: Fixed income deserves a good deal of…

After the woes of March, investors were gifted with a relatively mellow month in April. Markets were caught between two narratives over the month.

 As we settle into 2023, we believe long-term responsible investors focused on risk management and opportunity capture, must consider material changes impacting four areas: 

 Amid current financial market volatility, investors are revisiting asset allocations in their portfolios, hoping to identify attractive market segments with upside potential. Morgan Stanley Investment Management (“MSIM”) views private equity in Asia as a potential bright spot for investors that offers the opportunity for outperformance, particularly at the current juncture. While Asian private equity can…

Transparency should be the bedrock of sustainable finance.

Despite the -16.3 per cent year-to-date (YTD) performance, we are impressed with the resilience of emerging market (EM) equities. In any year with the S&P down 19.9 per cent, the US Dollar (USD) up 7.2 per cent, Russian assets marked to zero, and China locking down its two largest cities, one would rightly cover their…

Income arrives in many shapes and sizes   The first half of 2022 has been challenging for investors across all asset classes, and the uncertainties plaguing markets remain-particularly with regard to inflation, interest rates and the possibility of recession.  Stephen Dover, Chief Market Strategist, Franklin Templeton Investment Institute says: “As we look toward the second…

An allocation to municipal bonds by non-US investors may provide a high quality and differentiated fixed income exposure to a portfolio. With an increase in issuance and market size, investors outside the United States are expanding their search for yield to a hitherto unexpected place: US municipal bonds. US municipal bonds offer generally higher nominal…

I am not an expert on climate change. Therefore, I will leave it to those experts and environmental, social and governance (ESG) specialists to talk in detail about the impacts of climate change on our food system and which government policies are required to address or decrease impacts. I am looking at the future of…

Late-Cycle Investing Philosophy Comes Early 2021 marked the most rapid economic recovery witnessed in the U.S. over the past four decades. As a result, inflation has reached its highest point since the 1970s and markets are polarized between the need to raise rates to curb price growth versus continuing to stimulate the economy to achieve…