Alternatives – Page 3
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White papersHigh contrast in Fed Policy Signals
The contrast between the Federal Reserve’s policy-setting meeting in September and the one that ended Wednesday is striking. In the former, Chair Jerome Powell seemed to have a jump in his step as he announced the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) had lowered rates by a quarter percentage point with only one, very expected, dissent by White House economist turned Governor Stephen Miran for a half-point cut. Powell had rallied the troops to make a policy decision the traditional way—based on economic data and not political pressure.
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White papersAI revolution needs shift in engagement focus
There is little doubt that advances in AI represent huge opportunities for society and, as a consequence, for investors too. However, there is equally little doubt that the breakneck pace of development is creating significant risks. As a result, the Global SMID Equity Engagement team have developed a proprietary Responsible AI Assessment Framework to encourage the successful adoption and implementation of this new technology across industry, leading to better work and more productive workplaces.
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White papersPublic Engagement Report Q3 2025
The Q3 Public Engagement Report from EOS at Federated Hermes Limited explores the implications of the ratified High Seas Treaty for companies and investors, AI’s insatiable appetite for energy, and key themes from the voting season across developed Asia and emerging markets.
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White papersThe Future of Asset Management: The Macro Imperative
This note outlines an outlook for the asset management industry rooted in our view of the macro investment environment, which suggests that asset owners may need to reexamine their strategic allocations. A higher equilibrium level of inflation, high valuation multiples and less available diversification are not bearish per se, but they do prompt a need to change portfolio design, with the need to protect long-term purchasing power at its heart.
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White papersPrivate equity with purpose: The case for impact investing
Capital markets are continually being buffeted by far-reaching forces that are shaping societies, economies, and the environment. Technological innovation, climate change, demographic shifts, rising inequalities, and evolving regulatory requirements all pose challenges but also create opportunities for forward-thinking investors as economies adapt to disruption.
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White papersPre-COP30 Investor Outlook: Key Themes for Belém
The 30th United Nations Conference of the Parties (COP30) is likely to deliver incremental rather than transformative progress, as most countries remain misaligned with the Paris Agreement and net-zero pathways.
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White papersUnderstanding the modern electrical grid
The electricity grid is at the heart of the clean energy transition and is undergoing one of the most significant transformations in its history. Understanding the modern electrical grid is no easy task, but it is a necessary one, as the grid plays a critical role in economic growth, energy security and decarbonisation. Read our white paper which examines how the grid works, the impact of renewables, the evolution of grid technology and how investors can participate in its modernisation.
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White papersBeyond the basics: How secondaries can enhance your investment strategy
The private equity secondaries market has evolved over the past two decades from a niche solution into a bona fide asset class. What was once largely reserved for distressed sellers is now a sophisticated, and in our view, essential component of portfolio management for investors and private equity (PE) sponsors alike. So, what is behind the current explosion of secondaries activity? In this paper, Nick Lawler examines secondaries’ performance over multiple market cycles, their persistent structural advantages, three common misconceptions, and why current market conditions present a particularly compelling entry point.
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White papersPowering the digital age: Data center trends and opportunities
The piece highlights the accelerating demand for data centers as critical infrastructure in the digital economy, pointing to potential long-term real-estate growth driven by technological adoption, cloud demand and structural shifts in real-assets use.
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White papersThe Nuance in Net Zero
Effective measurement of progress toward net-zero alignment has never been more important to investors and companies that have adopted net-zero ambitions.
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White papersBlended Finance: scaling capital for sustainable impact
With development financing needs outpacing available resources, attracting private capital into social and environmental projects in risky markets (e.g., emerging markets) is vital. We believe that Blended Finance (BF) offers a strategic solution. Specifically, this investment approach involves the public sector leveraging private money to finance projects focused on achieving sustainable development goals (SDGs) and addressing climate change.
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White papersAutomating Insight Extraction from Oil And Gas Sector Climate Disclosures with AI
Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) reporting has become a cornerstone of corporate transparency and accountability, especially within high emission sectors such as oil and gas. However, the traditional methods of extracting meaningful insights from ESG data are time-consuming and are in general processed manually.
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White papersESG Thema #21 - From access to empowerment: how financial inclusion fuels resilience
Financial inclusion spans savings, credit, payment services, insurance, and investments. Many low-income households and small businesses, particularly in developing countries, remain excluded or underbanked, relying mainly on cash transactions that expose them to risks and hinder their saving and investing activities. Credit access is often limited or costly, pushing many to informal lenders or expensive formal options. Digital finance—financial services delivered via mobile and internet platforms—is central to expanding access.
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White papersAI: Boom? Bust? Or Both?
Amid the AI frenzy are some early signs of the technology’s positive impact on productivity, raising profound implications for growth, inflation, labor markets, and asset prices.
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White papersWhat do we know about retail responsible investors?
The Amundi Investment Institute, in partnership with Crédit Agricole du Languedoc, the University of Montpellier, and Montpellier Business School (MBS), has forged a unique collaboration dedicated to advancing our understanding of individual investors’ financial preferences and needs. This partnership combines academic rigor with practical insights from the financial industry, creating a rich foundation for exploring the evolving landscape of retail investment behavior.
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White papersSpectrum: A quiet revolution
Innovation and evolution are at the heart of our MDT quant strategies. Our latest Spectrum report examines how the team uses machine learning, novel factors and decision trees to gain an edge.
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White papersEuropean infrastructure - Striking the right balance
Despite macroeconomic turmoil in some markets, infrastructure decarbonisation and digitalisation remain viable and appealing thematic investment options in Europe. Karen Azoulay, Head of Infrastructure Debt and Paul-Francois Prouvost, Private Assets Investor Relations, review the opportunities in European Infrastructure.
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White papersEurope: A global leader in sustainable investment opportunities
For years Europe has been the indomitable epicentre in the battle against climate change. Thanks to its solid, long-term commitments, today it is an international hive of innovation and investment opportunity – and one which could hugely benefit given that globally annual clean energy investment needs to more than triple by 2030 to $4trn to reach net zero by 2050.
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White papersGold is on track for a strong year
Gold prices set new record highs recently above $3,700 per ounce and are on track to deliver returns above 40% this year, the strongest yearly performance since 1980. This stellar performance follows already strong gains in 2023 and 2024, and compares with the long-term average annual return of around 6.0%.
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White papersOur new AI assessment of engagement sentiment
The Global Equity ESG team outline how they are using AI to elevate their engagement discourse to uncover a more nuanced view of company trajectories.
