It is often easier to conceptualise ESG considerations when making investments at a corporate level. A company’s activities are often relatively narrow in focus, and forming a direct link between the company and those activities that we don’t support (polluting, gambling, smoking, drinking and so on) or those that we… Read the article
While markets were closed in Japan, Korea, Thailand and the UK yesterday, stock markets in other regions ‘plunged’ (there’s that word again) on a re-emergence of trade war fears.
Domestic Chinese markets were the hardest hit, with some impact on neighbouring countries.
The… Read the article
In 2018, almost all major asset class categories delivered negative returns:
So far in 2019, almost all major assets have done the opposite:
This degree of correlation is unusual. Some described last year as the worst on record in terms of correlated negative… Read the article
Our sense at the end of 2018 was that the volatility being seen in markets at that time was episodic in nature. Yes, there were things to be worried about from a growth standpoint, but the rapidity and nature of price moves suggested that… Read the article
Earlier this week the IMF released its latest economic outlook. It was the debut of the newly appointed and first female IMF chief economist, Gita Gopinath.
She observed that “While global growth in 2018 remained close to post crisis highs, the global expansion is weakening”. Indeed, the… Read the article
The liquidity of an asset is the extent to which it can be bought or sold without affecting its price. In extreme market conditions especially, investors trying to sell illiquid assets may be forced to accept drastically reduced prices to find a buyer quickly (or at all). A lesson learned… Read the article
The last quarter of 2018 saw some significant equity weakness, which came in two bouts:
In October, price weakness emerged in response to rising rate expectations in the US. However, any investors hoping that an abatement of those pressures would support equity markets were to be disappointed.
… Read the articleIt is easy to lose sight of just how much investors have changed their minds about the global environment this year.
In January the watchwords were ‘melt up’ and ‘synchronised growth,’ today we are again on the lookout for signs of global recession.
How did we… Read the article
There’s been some clamour around everybody’s favourite UK-related subject this week: Brexit and politics are once again grabbing the headlines.
Given the extent of coverage I thought it worth recapping (briefly) how our view on these matters is formed and how we might begin to assess the relevance of… Read the article
Yesterday, the US yield curve became inverted. The yield on three-year Treasuries was temporarily (blink and you’ll miss it) lower than that of their two-year counterparts. This is, apparently, huge.
Many are worried because an inverted yield curve has frequently been a sign of upcoming… Read the article
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OKWelcome to the M&G Multi Asset Team’s Allocation blog, previously known as the Episode blog. We have changed the name of our blog to resonate better with our readers in Europe, however, the content and purpose of the blog has not changed. The Allocation blog continues to aim to provide unique market perspectives from our dedicated team of experienced asset allocators.
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