Measure for measure

Emerging market investors welcome leaders who promise reform – but those promises are not always kept, writes Ed Wiltshire.

Amazon surprised the market with its $13.7 billion acquisition of Whole Foods, but as the company extends its reach into new sectors, will antitrust regulators begin to scrutinise its activities more closely?

European equities, weighed down by political concerns, have appeared undervalued for a year. However, with political risk fading and the euro zone economy simultaneously strengthening, that could be set to change.

The stock market is frequently, sometimes justifiably, seen as the epitome of short-termism. There are plenty of instances where the opposite is true, although accurately assessing companies’ long-term prospects is not straightforward, writes Giles Parkinson.

The rise of Amazon.com has forced traditional retailers to adapt their business models. But who will be the winners – and losers – in the battle with e-commerce?

Identifying companies set to benefit from technological change will be a major driver of future investment returns. Avoiding the losers will be just as important.

The difficulty in developing a model that accurately predicts equity duration means few managers pay much attention to the concept. And yet, just because it’s a tricky task, doesn’t mean it should be ignored.

Our cover story looks at the insatiable ambition of Amazon to conquer new markets. Also in this issue, Aviva Investors’ CEO Euan Munro outlines what the asset management industry needs to do to win back public trust; while US policymaker Andy Stern makes his case for a universal basic income.