All Commentary articles – Page 125
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White papersCOVID-19, comp and doing the right thing: Why corporate values have never been more critical
With annual general meetings now taking place virtually, shareholders, employees and suppliers have had to adjust to lockdowns. While some of the immediate impacts will be phased out with the opening of the economy, stewardship priorities and corporate values may change forever.
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White papersCommodities in the wake of the pandemic: unlocking potential
Like all asset classes, commodities were severely impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. As the crisis starts to recede and we move into the second half of 2020, now is the moment to take stock.
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White papersMajor Shifts In Odce Sector Allocations Underway
Prior to the COVID-19 crisis, commercial real estate (CRE) demand and supply fundamentals were largely healthy in most markets and property sectors. The U.S. labor market and household formation had been very strong, driving robust demand for commercial space. Furthermore, relatively conservative underwriting and rising construction costs constrained new supply. In recent months, however, the global pandemic has led to a rapid downturn of the U.S economy, negatively impacting different industries and real estate dynamics.
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White papersThe day after #7 - Climate change post Covid-19: A crisis at a crossroad
This year was supposed to be the year in the fight against climate change. Instead, 2020 has become the year of the coronavirus pandemic.
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White papersBig oil – Staring down the barrel of an uncertain future
After three months of convulsions, the global oil industry appears to be stuck between a rock and a hard place when contemplating its future. Oil majors need to decide how best to tackle the factors that are raising an increasingly large question mark over their business model, explains Mark Lewis, Global Head of Sustainability Research at BNP Paribas Asset Management, in a new briefing paper.
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White papersEvidence and ambition: The new rules of engagement on climate change
Mirza Baig explains why far-off commitments on climate change by energy companies and their lenders are no longer enough, and why COVID-19 has catalysed rather than derailed investor engagement on the issue.
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White papersMarket weekly – Factor investing in equities – Lessons from the COVID-19 crisis (podcast)
Our multi-factor equity strategy seeks to tilt portfolios towards value, quality, low volatility and momentum stocks. During the recent rally in developed equity markets, exposures to these factors did not perform as might have been expected. In this week’s podcast, Grégory Taieb, quantitative investment specialist, and Laurent Lagarde, head of quantitative equity portfolio management, talk to Daniel Morris, senior market strategist, about the particularities of the recent rally and the outlook for factor investing in equities.
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White papersThe Great Instability: Five lessons from COVID-19
The Great Instability: this is the label we chose last year to describe the fragile nature of the global economy and wider society, looking at 2020. It’s a label inspired by the contrast with a very different period known as the Great Stability – a dim but not so distant past, in the years leading up to the Great Financial Crisis, when it appeared as if the economy had achieved its state of ‘nirvana’. A global pandemic was not exactly front of mind when we settled on ‘The Great Instability’; still, it fits quite neatly into the overarching concept. After all, the world was already, and will remain, a volatile place.
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White papers5G Dis-Connectivity
Geopolitical and trade tensions may fragment the 5G supply chain, but while that could make the theme more complex to navigate, it is unlikely to diminish its importance.
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White papersMarket Commentary – Financial repression and the sovereign carry trade
Chinese data on Monday may vindicate hopes of a V-shape recovery. Yet we warn against extrapolating 1/ an early bounce driven by pent-up demand and 2/ Chinese trends to the broader economy. The ‘swoosh’ scenario for the global economy remains very credible.
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White papersReal estate outlook – Out of office
The COVID-19 outbreak has forced a revolution in office working in the past 10 weeks, with millions of employees working successfully from home across the world. This has led to competing claims about whether working from home will revolutionise the future organisation of work and change the nature of the office real estate business.
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White papersBeyond the box-ticking: what really makes a board function well?
At the end of April, EOS at Federated Hermes published a white paper ‘Guiding Principles for an Effective Board – Insights from Engagement’. These five principles focus on the human, relational and behavioural aspects of boards, rather than the usual standardised data sets, which don’t tell the full story.
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White papersQuarterly Economic Outlook: we’ve never had it so loose
The US and UK are already running highly negative interest rates, when QE is considered, according to a report by the International business of Federated Hermes. It says that true, QE-adjusted policy rates are now as low as -10% in the US, and -6% in the UK or around -12% and -8% in real (inflation-adjusted) terms.
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White papersNo Liftoff on the Horizon
The Fed Funds rate is set to remain at its zero-lower bound for several years, while the BOE and BOJ assess current policy next week, and more trade deals appear on the horizon.
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White papersPerspective: Real Estate
How long will the low-interest phase last, how stable are the markets and how predictable are the policymakers? These are the questions that we are asking ourselves, that the real es- tate sector is asking itself – but no one seems to have any clear answers. Any answer that can be given is merely an assessment of the current situation that tries to take into account the increasing complexity of the world around us. People then talk about how complexity might be reduced, how a risk can be made cal- culable, and how uncertainty can be made tangible, so to speak. Here, the word uncertain- ty is often used interchangeably with risk, and thus equated with it. This is wrong, as a brief excursion into the world of decision theory illustrates.
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White papersWeekly investment update – 10 June 2020
Hot spots in Latin America, India and the Middle East / Brazil charts its own course / will the US see a second wave / caution: US jobs data / more stimulus from the ECB and a German package
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White papersPerspective: Renewable Energies
Greta Thunberg, #FridaysForFuture and climate protection currently receive much attention. Greta is cheered on, we point an accusing finger at others, and yet people still buy strawberries in winter. In the current debate on climate protection, two different yardsticks are used. We criticise other people’s behaviour, but have a blinkered view of our own behaviour, seeing only what we want to see.
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White papersCinderella science?
Why portfolio construction holds the key to resilient investment outcomes
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White papersHave traditional safe havens lost their edge?
COVID-19 has reminded investors of the importance of defensive positions within portfolios during times of stress. But are the ‘safe havens’ of the past still up to the task?
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White papersWhere to go in an income drought?
Income investors face multiple challenges – dividend cuts, historically low yields, rising corporate defaults, and an uncertain property market. Francois de Bruin goes in search of sustainable income sources.
