The tide turns

UK investors considering whether to allocate to global investment-grade credit may discover the broader diversification benefits can significantly improve a portfolio’s overall risk dynamics.

Sunil Krishnan asks whether higher-yielding fixed income assets remain good diversifiers for multi-asset portfolios in the current environment.

Following a series of IMF meetings in Washington, D.C., Carmen Altenkirch and Dariusz Kedziora discuss their views on how reform prospects may shape emerging market debt.

Climate risk has become a critical business issue, but a recent consultation by the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority highlights confusion on how to assess it.

In the strongest signal yet that central bank policies are upending the investment playbook, sub-zero conditions are extending to the high yield market for the first time. Sunita Kara, looks at the implications for investors.

Green bonds can be a powerful tool for attracting investment in environmental projects, but reforms are needed to promote further growth of the market, argues Colin Purdie.

Christine Lagarde has been nominated to head the European Central Bank at a difficult time for monetary policy given growing fears of a recession in the euro zone. Despite much debate on her credentials, Stewart Robertson argues she is the right candidate for the job.

The Italian government remains on a collision course with Brussels despite recently striking a deal over its 2019 budget. A mis-step by either side could lead to a fresh euro zone crisis that the new head of the ECB might struggle to contain.

The emerging market debt universe offers investors an expanding pool of opportunities that may be better assessed when integrating environmental, social and governance factors.

Old assumptions on the traditional link between emerging market debt and the greenback are being challenged, writes Liam Spillane.

How we frame things deeply affects how we process information and subsequently act on it. So much so that, despite convincing evidence to the contrary, it can be extremely hard to shake off a fabled preconception. It seems that once a label sticks it can be very hard to dislodge.

Almost a decade on from the sovereign debt crisis, we explore whether the euro zone’s peripheral economies have materially improved or old vulnerabilities will again become apparent as growth slows.