Latest from IPE Magazine – Page 70
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FeaturesBriefing: Germany’s Spezialfonds are weathering the crisis well
Institutional investors in Germany continue to invest in funds despite the challenging conditions. In the middle of 2021, the volume of Spezialfonds – Germany’s vehicle for professional investors – on the Universal-Investment platform stood at almost €474bn. This represents an increase of 36% over the past 12 months. According to most observers, it has been one of the most exceptional periods in a long time.
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FeaturesFixed income, rates, currencies: Not quite back to normal
As the world struggles to get back to pre-pandemic conditions, with schools and offices open, economic forecasting seems even less predictable than ever. Take August’s US payrolls report, which again confounded most forecasters. Analysts scrambled to explain why the headline job gains were so weak, particularly after the huge (forecast-beating) gains the previous month.
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FeaturesAhead of the curve: The future of quant credit
The past several decades have seen quantitative strategies established as an important feature of global equity markets. In 2019, less than one quarter of the more than $30trn (€25trn) of US equities was held by human-managed funds.
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FeaturesIPE Quest Expectations Indicator - October 2021
The much-feared post-summer holiday effect on COVID-19 contaminations did not materialise. The current wave started earlier and statistics are already trending down in the US, EU, UK and Japan, although still at a high level. Full vaccinations are over 60% in the EU and UK, with Japan catching up fast. Emerging markets are still significantly behind in tackling the pandemic.
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FeaturesStrategically Speaking: Aviva Investors
Insurance-owned asset managers can be difficult to pigeonhole. Some have forged strong specialisms, often in fixed income, but now also in alternatives like property or niche credit. Others have remained a corporate backwater absorbed by group general-account assets.
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Special ReportETFs Guide 2021: A story of scale, scope and sophistication
In tandem with continued strong inflows, which you will see illustrated in granular detail in the data supplied by research and consultancy firm ETFGI at the back of this year’s ETF Guide, the scope of ETFs’ role is broadening with the adoption of what one asset manager describes as a ‘whole portfolio’ approach.
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Special ReportMulti-purpose, measuring up and poised for the European mainstream
As the world economy emerges from COVID-19, the relentless rise of ETFs continues. Assets invested in ETFs and ETPs listed globally reached a record $9.35trn (€7.94trn) at the end of June 2021, with year-to-date net inflows at a record $660.7bn, according to research firm and consultancy ETFGI.
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Special ReportThe ETFs that could gain from the Biden presidency
US President Joe Biden has set out ambitious spending plans since taking office in January. Investors are looking closely at what this means for markets and monetary policy.
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Special ReportInvestor self-seeded ETFs: the dos and don’ts
Two of Finland’s biggest pension firms – Varma and Ilmarinen – have initiated the launch of several ESG-themed ETFs over the past few years. In April this year, Ilmarinen announced it was investing €170m in the new AXA WF US high yield low carbon bonds fund, which focuses particularly on the carbon and water intensity scores of issuers, acting as a seed investor for the fund launch.
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Special ReportFrom fixed weights to all-weather: rethinking the 60/30/10 portfolio
In the current environment of low interest rates, policy uncertainty, large dispersion of global growth outlooks and gyrating equity markets, asset allocation is one of the foremost considerations for investors. Fixed weight portfolios such as the 60/40 portfolio (ie, 60% equities and 40% fixed income) have been widely used – the main benefits being their conceptual simplicity, ease of implementation and, historically, the diversification benefits across equity and fixed income returns.
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Special ReportGreen ETFs: a perfect pairing or fleeting fad?
Sustainable investing is here to stay. What was once a set of niche strategies for environmentally conscious investors is now an industry expected to hold a third of global assets by 2025, according to Bloomberg analysis.
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Special Report
Sustainable ETFs are a pension scheme’s friend
Pension fund trustees already face myriad challenges and, today, most schemes face a timeline for compliance with various climate and ESG regulations, which vary by country, scheme type and scheme size. Meanwhile, the intensifying spotlight being shone by scheme members on areas like climate, diversity and stewardship will continue to pave the direction of travel.
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Special ReportBuilding stronger portfolios for a low carbon world
Limiting further global warming will require less fossil fuel use and an increase in the production and use of greener forms of energy. As the world transitions to a low carbon economy, investors need to prepare their portfolios to manage the risks and capitalise on the opportunities that are being created across all markets, sectors and regions.
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Special ReportESG and fixed income: a new direction for ETF investors
Fixed income has long lagged equities in the environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing space, but we are at a turning point in ESG investing in corporate bonds, for both active and passive management. Rising demand for ESG debt is leading to the development of a rapidly expanding range of fixed income solutions. As increasingly socially conscious investors re-evaluate their asset allocations, fixed income exchange-traded funds (ETFs) present an opportunity for the reshaping of portfolios.
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Special ReportESG futures: building from a strong foundation
Environment, social and governance (ESG) criteria have moved to the forefront of fund managers’ decisions, meaning that risk, reward and sustainability are now the three key considerations when investing.
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Special ReportESG outperformance: not about one factor
The recent outperformance of many ESG indices relative to broad market indices is well documented. The resilience of ESG strategies during the COVID-19 crisis has broadened the appreciation and appeal of ESG.
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Special ReportTurning scale and commitment into influence
The popularity of passive strategies such as ETFs among institutional investors might at first sight appear inconsistent with the role of asset owners as effective corporate stewards. The reality is that passive does not equate to a lack of interest or influence.
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Special ReportIndex design: do your research
Thematic exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are not new but over the past year those with a sustainability and technology slant have captured the imagination. Inflows have surged but investors are advised to be vigilant and judiciously examine the index construction and approach. As past events have shown, it is too easy to be caught off guard by rebalancing or by stocks that may not fit the bill.
