You may be forgiven for not staying up late this Sunday to watch the final results of Germany’s parliamentary elections come in. While Chancellor Merkel is sure to win, the scale of her victory is likely to impact the future direction of bond spreads.
Deutsche Asset Management and Franklin Templeton are the latest firms to reveal they will take on the cost of research once Mifid II comes into force next year.
Franklin Templeton has introduced a range of smart beta ETFs to European investors, with four strategies to be launched on the London Stock Exchange on Friday.
Political risk in Italy is currently overstated, and government finances are better than markets appreciate. Investors have all the reason to be overweight Italian government bonds, argues David Zahn, head of European fixed income at Franklin Templeton Fixed Income Group.
Mark Mobius, AKA Mr Emerging Markets, will be stepping back from day-to-day management of several high-profile funds at Franklin Templeton. He tells us where he would like to retire, if it ever comes to that.
Mark Mobius is to stand down from fund management duties on a range of 12 Luxembourg Sicavs but will remain as executive chairman of Templeton Emerging Markets Group.
Three Franklin Templeton bond funds suffered more than €800m of outflows in January, according to Morningstar data.
Eurozone inflation will hit 2% by next year, half of fund buyers attending the Expert Investor forum in Barcelona believe.
Many European investors have been reducing the duration of their bond portfolios following the spike in bond yields at the end of 2016. But they have been calling the end of the 30-year bond bull market too quickly, believes David Zahn, head of European fixed income at Franklin Templeton Investments.
Whereas equity markets have quickly shrugged off the result of the US presidential elections, peripheral bond spreads have widened since. Trump’s election seems to have reminded markets of the possible consequences of an Italian no-vote in next week’s referendum.
Thai equities have mostly recovered after plunging in the wake of the death of the King. But some sectors remain vulnerable to further downside as uncertainty remains.
Carlos Hardenberg has been making radical changes to the portfolio of the £1.56bn (€2.04bn) Templeton Emerging Markets Investment Trust (TEMIT) since taking over its management from Mark Mobius in October last year, in an effort to end a string of severe underperformance.
