All Indices/benchmarks articles
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White papersChina’s ‘Sputnik moment’
China’s tech sector is surging, fuelling a broader market rally that has grabbed investor attention. With top Chinese companies taking a lead in innovation, the country is gaining influence in cutting-edge industries like AI. Can it sustain the momentum?
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White papersThe value of vehicles: ETFs vs. index funds and segregated mandates
ETFs are a relatively newcomer to the investment world but have recorded spectacular growth since their launch in 1990. Total AUM in ETFs have now reached USD 14 trillion globally, and exceed AUM in hedge funds. Given ETFs’ increasing share of overall index assets, we believe investors need to be aware of their specifics when selecting an investment vehicle for their index portfolio.
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White papersA short guide to index selection: A multi-step process requiring both quantitative and qualitative inputs.
The indexing industry has changed and evolved significantly since the first indexed equity portfolio was launched in 1971. More than USD 24 trillion is now invested on a passive basis globally – tracking a wide range of benchmarks across different asset classes in a variety of investment vehicles.
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White papersPositive on Equities, Cautious on the S&P 500
Why we think 2025 could bring a long-awaited reward for the discipline of diversification.
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White papersEmerging Markets Debt Under Trump 2.0
EMD has been more resilient after November’s election than it was after the 2016 result—so, what has changed, and will this resilience last?
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White papersUK equities: don’t believe the doom mongers
Remember Tony Blair? When Labour won a landslide election victory in 1997 after 18 years of Conservative rule, it inherited an economy on the rebound after a bout of inflation and high interest rates in the early 1990s. In the months that followed, sterling surged and UK stocks rallied.
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White papersWhat is in store for tech?
The tech sector continued to outperform in 2024, with a YTD performance of +34% versus a +25% for the S&P 500 Index. Over the past two year, the tech sector’s outperformance has been driven by superior earnings growth, expectations of lower US interest rates and the start of a cycle of investment in AI technologies.
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White papersBack to Business
After a year of tumultuous elections, investors can now refocus on company fundamentals—and the outlook is more nuanced than it might seem.
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White papersIs the auto sector stuck in second gear?
The auto sector hit a series of roadblocks in Q2, causing several companies to scale back their growth forecasts for the year. What is the current outlook for manufacturers and suppliers and where do we see select opportunities?
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White papersThe Endurance of U.S. Rental Housing Investments
Over the past decade, U.S. multifamily has been among the most sought-after sectors by institutional investors due to its necessity characteristic, the underlying strength of property-level fundamentals, and high historic risk-adjusted total returns.
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White papersSurge of the Secondaries: Financing Growth in an Undercapitalized Industry
With the secondary market growing in leaps and bounds, raising capital remains top of mind for managers. It also underscores the importance of being able to access alternative sources of financing—a key, and sometimes overlooked, variable in the capital overhang equation.
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White papersNo Autumn chills for Global Investment Grade Corporate fundamentals
Investment grade (IG) indices remain close to recent tights. Similarly, corporate fundamentals are in an extremely strong position. Our credit work looks to identify where there is a mismatch between the fundamental expectations and valuations of issuers, on a name-by-name basis. We also aggregate the single name expectations each quarter to give a view of the market as a whole.
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White papersGlobal Outlook 2025
In 2025, we believe the core question to dominate economic discussions is where the unobservable natural rate (r*, the neutral rate of interest that supports full employment and constant inflation) lies and when central banks should stop cutting.
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White papersGlobal Market Perspectives, Q4 2024: Hard to be gloomy
Global policymakers have responded to weakening economic growth, raising the odds of a global soft landing.
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White papersChina: Is this the “whatever it takes” moment?
China’s recent stimulus measures, including monetary easing and a massive fiscal pledge, have sparked a sharp rally in equities, particularly in real estate and consumer staples. While market sentiment has improved, the long-term impact will hinge on the actual scale and execution of fiscal policy. Investors are cautiously optimistic, but much depends on how effectively China targets its property sector and broader economy.
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White papersSeptember jobs report: Not as weak as once thought?
The September jobs report showed a 254,000 monthly job gain, blowing all estimates out of the water. Not only does it suggest that the U.S. labor market is on a stronger footing than most believed, but it also suggests that the Fed does not need to maintain such an aggressive pace of rate cuts. Market expectations for a 50bps cut in November have rightfully plunged, and a 25bps reduction is now the clear market consensus.
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White papersA closer look at European equities
Interview with Arun Singhal, Global Head of Product Management at STOXX.
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White papersRate Expectations
Much has been written about the pace of likely interest rate cuts from the U.S. Federal Reserve. We continue to expect a total of 75 bps by year end, with a first cut of 25 bps at the next Federal Open Market Committee Meeting on September 17-18.
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White papersChina’s policy measures: a pivotal week?
China’s policymakers have announced a significant package of easing measures designed to lift China from a state of entrenched economic weakness. Comprehensive monetary policy easing, targeted at supporting the beleaguered real estate market and boosting Chinese equities, has now been rounded out by an impactful pledge to support fiscal spending and stabilize the troubled property sector.
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White papersU.S. Federal Reserve policy decision: securing a soft landing
The Fed’s aggressive 50 basis point rate cut, while unconventional, reflects a proactive approach to stave off any potential economic weakness. Despite associations of such large cuts with crises, today’s economic backdrop remains resilient. With recession risks receding and a favorable historical pattern during non-recessionary rate cutting periods, investors have reasons to remain cautiously optimistic about the market’s near-term outlook.
