All Alternatives articles – Page 47
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White papersTrade is not the only drag on growth
Entering 2019, our main expectations were for slower growth, easier monetary policy globally and continuing pressure on bond yields. At a high level, that is how the year played out. But the path to those outcomes has at times surprised us.
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White papersThe (new) working world: promoting workplace well-being
This is the third part of a four-part series on SDG 8 – decent work and economic growth. In our first two instalments, we demonstrated how we are engaging with companies on their hiring practices and efforts in the shift towards fairer pay outcomes. Today, we progress to the issue of employee benefits.
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White papersSustainable agriculture: the economics of healthy soil
Where is modern industrial agriculture taking us? How can farmers respond? And what does all this mean for the financial performance of companies operating in the food and agricultural sector?
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White papersDemand grows for high-quality ESG analytics
After the buzz comes the reality. As we look towards 2020, the key responsible investment (RI) themes are already evident. Technology, regulatory changes, enhanced analytics, active use of voting rights and thematic issues (eg, climate change or the sustainable development goals) are key elements of this and are set to be the focus in the RI field.
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White papersAdapting to a low-yield, high-regulation environment
Global insurance markets are a tale of two halves. The European and US markets are mature, with assets under management likely to remain flat for the foreseeable future. Asia is different: the market is boasting strong, sometimes double-digit growth. Insurance companies are injecting a lot of the expertise from their European or US businesses into growth areas, thus achieving higher valuation multiples, because a fast-growing business is more attractive from an M&A point of view.
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White papersFixed Expense Investing
Low and even negative yields have turned some fixed income investing into “fixed expense” investing—but there are still good reasons to hold negative-yielding bonds.
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White papersDecember Macro Dashboard
The announced Phase One trade deal between the U.S. and China, as well as the Conservatives increasing their majority in the U.K. election, has tempered two of the biggest political risks hanging over the global economy. At least temporarily, sentiment is turning optimistic.
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White papersCommitment on Climate
Our Sustainable Equity team explores a recent engagement on measurement of carbon emissions.
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White papersFixed Income: Back To Core - Charts And Views
The ongoing slowdown in global trade will weaken global GDP growth further in 2020 – especially in advanced economies skewed towards the manufacturing sector – but a full-blown recession is unlikely, in our view. This situation will encourage policymakers to finally add fiscal stimulus to the policy mix, possibly extending the economic and credit cycles. Monetary policy is unlikely to become much more accommodative and market expectations will have to adjust, likely driving bond volatility higher with a possible bottoming out of core bond yields.
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White papersGlobal Emerging Markets: ESG Materiality, Q3 2019
Welcome to the Hermes Global Emerging Markets’ ESG Materiality commentary – a quarterly publication that demonstrates our engagement activity with portfolio companies and showcases holdings that are creating positive impact aligned to the Sustainable Development Goals. In addition, we explore an environmental, social and governance theme and its implications for the asset class.
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White papers2020: Risks, Opportunities & Predictions (Part 1/2)
In Part 1 of our 2-part series, Barings’ investment professionals touch on topics from politics to trade wars to economic growth—and offer their perspectives on why EM currencies, international equities and EM local debt might outperform in 2020.
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White papers2020: An Inflection Point for EM Currencies?
With the financial crisis more than a decade behind us, the global financial system seems poised to begin re-leveraging. This process, which would likely take years to play out, would provide a source of funding for EM currencies, and represent a significant tailwind.
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White papersThe Continued Democratization of Private Equity
Private equity is an asset class that has traditionally been available only to very large, sophisticated institutional investors. But this is changing rapidly—a trend we expect to accelerate in 2020.
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White papersHow Crucial is a Weaker Dollar in Supporting an EM Rally?
As concerns of a near-term recession seem to have dissipated, we think—in what may be somewhat of a contrarian call—riskier assets look well-positioned to potentially outperform in the year ahead.
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White papersHow Institutional Investors Embrace Responsible Investing
Responsible investing has gathered enough momentum to reach the mainstream. What is less clear is how advanced global institutional investors are in the process of integrating ESG principles into their investment decisions.
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White papersSustainable investing is here to stay
Sustainable investing was once viewed as a trade-off between value and ‘values’. Yet today, it’s something investors can no longer afford to ignore. What has changed? More granular data, more sophisticated analysis and shifting societal understanding of sustainability, as well as growing awareness that certain factors – often characterised as environmental, social and governance (ESG) – can be tied to a company’s long-term growth potential.
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White papers
2020 Investment Outlook - Be Agile To Cope With Diverging Scenarios
After enjoying stellar performance this year, moving into 2020, investors will increasingly ask whether the global economy will proceed towards a trade war-engineered recession or whether growth will stabilise at a low level and potentially rebound, meaning the cycle could extend even further. In our view, the retreat in global trade is causing a major change in the structure of growth, but does not point to a full-blown recession, especially at a time when cumulative loose policies are gearing up and a partial deal between the US and China is in sight. Monetary and fiscal policy combination, a prominent theme going forward, may extend the current cycle further. While the noise on trade-related issues will be high, a material escalation is unlikely given the upcoming US elections in 2020. However, the path for investors will not be linear. In the short term, market expectations for policy actions have gone too far and need to be adjusted.
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White papersInitial Margin Landscape
Neil Murphy, business manager of triResolve, discusses what the regulatory initial margin landscape changes mean to the market and how in-scope firms for phase 5 and 6 may decide to take an alternative approach to IM compliance.
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White papersThe world’s renewable energy transition has begun
The world’s renewable energy transition has now begun and is only going to accelerate from here as governments, consumers and investors recognise that switching to more sustainable energy is not only essential to stop climate change, but makes sound economic sense too.
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White papersStewardship: the 2020 vision
We call for a seismic change in the way the investment management industry operates: from one that has for too long focused on short-term returns, at the expense of sustainable wealth creation. In our view, successful stewardship needs to be at the heart of business purpose and inextricably linked to investment decision-making. In order for this to happen, we need a “new normal” in the relationship between asset manager and the companies in which they invest.
