Analysis

  • Family offices eyeing increased equities allocations

    Family offices eyeing increased equities allocations

    Geopolitics has knocked inflation off its top spot in the list of European family-office major concerns, according to new research from UBS. Although recent inflation numbers – and the associated likelihood of interest rates remaining higher for longer – make worrying reading for many investors, new research from UBS shows inflation falling to third place among the…

  • Dewi John: spotting the growth rebound’s winners and losers

    Dewi John: spotting the growth rebound’s winners and losers

    While the market can famously remain irrational longer than investors can remain solvent, analysis suggests this growth rally is thinly supported Having largely given up on organic intelligence, investors have grown all excited over its artificial offspring. As a result, the (mainly US) stocks linked to AI have raced away from the broad market this…

  • Europe, China and the US chip away at each other

    Europe, China and the US chip away at each other

    Some element of ‘chip war’ would appear to be brewing between China and Europe. The Chinese government has announced that companies exporting gallium and germanium – both vital in the production of computer microchips – will now require an export licence. This comes a week after Dutch firm ASML was hit with new export controls…

  • Investors must be wary of ‘AI losers’ as tech valuations spike

    Investors must be wary of ‘AI losers’ as tech valuations spike

    In the face of the excitement surrounding the prospects for artificial intelligence, the market needs to do its homework on potential risks and rewards At the end of last year, plenty of experts were calling time on the decade-long technology rally. Its valuations couldn’t be sustained in an environment of higher interest rates, they said,…

  • What to make of high yield’s time in the sun

    What to make of high yield’s time in the sun

    Corporate bond yields may look superficially attractive but, writes Cherry Reynard, this is a time to identify the strongest credit manager available The high yield market is in an odd position. On the one hand, there are clear and mounting signs of corporate distress – bankruptcies and defaults are rising and many companies are feeling…

  • Is growth stocks’ dominance a case of style over substance?

    Is growth stocks’ dominance a case of style over substance?

    2022 was hailed a year of revival for value strategies, but they have been comprehensively outpaced by growth strategies to date in 2023. The MSCI World Growth index has beaten the MSCI World Value index by around 14% since the start of the year, with weaker commodity markets, economic weakness and the banking crisis all…

  • Which emerging markets are winners and losers from deglobalisation?

    Which emerging markets are winners and losers from deglobalisation?

    Geopolitics and shifting supply chains are changing the landscape for the world’s emerging economies – and those who invest in them Emerging markets were notable beneficiaries of globalisation. Their strength as low-cost manufacturing hubs brought new capital and influence and helped many developing economies kick-start their growth. Against this backdrop, it stands to reason they…

  • Four factors setting the stage for a REITs rebound

    Four factors setting the stage for a REITs rebound

    Recent market events add conviction to the argument that favourable entry points are emerging for REITs Late last year, we wrote a report arguing an attractive entry point was emerging for real estate investment trusts (REITs). Recent market developments have added further conviction to this view, with four key factors underscoring our analysis. First, commercial…

  • Is the dominance of growth stocks a case of style over substance?

    Is the dominance of growth stocks a case of style over substance?

    Value strategies have been comprehensively outpaced

  • Markets have no margin for error as US debt ceiling wrangle rolls on

    Markets have no margin for error as US debt ceiling wrangle rolls on

    US lawmakers may have been locked in White House meeting rooms trying to thrash out a deal, but the consensus among investors has been that the debt ceiling problem will be resolved in the end. That sunny optimism took a small hit on Friday as Republican negotiators walked out of the talks, accusing Democrats of…

  • US equities investors betting on a ‘soft landing’ could be in trouble

    US equities investors betting on a ‘soft landing’ could be in trouble

    At the annual Berkshire Hathaway meeting at the start of May, Warren Buffett sounded a gloomy note, warning that corporate earnings were likely to be lower as an ‘incredible period’ in American economic history drew to a close. He is not alone. There is an increasing gap between the optimism displayed by stock markets, and…

  • Do Europe’s banks have a problem – or is the problem them?

    Do Europe’s banks have a problem – or is the problem them?

    The fallout from Credit Suisse’s takeover by UBS is continuing to be felt across Europe. The move, which saw UBS step in to scoop up its former rival following months of speculation over Credit Suisse’s business affairs, has led to regulators in Europe saying they would look to write down the investments of shareholders as…