Working in partnership

The green premium is an elusive concept. Laurence Monnier reviews the academic literature and crunches some numbers to try and quantify the extra pricing power afforded by more sustainable commercial properties.

Emerging market debt investors need to keep a watchful eye on food price inflation as a potential key driver of monetary policy, especially as this has not coincided with a weaker US dollar, argues Nafez Zouk.

Like Washington and Brussels, Beijing is worried about the growing power of large technology companies. But China’s regulators are taking swifter, more radical action than their peers in the West.

Regulatory authorities around the world are targeting the big US tech giants. However, while investors need to keep a watchful eye on developments, Big Tech’s stranglehold and influence on numerous economic sectors will be hard to loosen.

Asset managers of many different hues claim they are thinking harder about their social role: the ‘S’ in ESG. But evaluating social value generated from investment decisions is not straightforward, as consultant Dr Kelly Watson from Hatch explains.

The inequalities highlighted by COVID-19 have led to much soul searching, including among investors on whether they are doing enough to address the issues of the day. Ed Dixon, Aviva Investors’ head of ESG - real assets, contemplates how investors in tangible assets can put capital to work to drive change.

The tragedy and destruction caused by the Blitz created an unintended natural experiment in urban redevelopment. Chris Urwin reflects on what this can teach us anything about agglomeration economies and the resilience of cities.

Unlike liquid markets and real estate, a lack of publicly available data has made assessing risk more challenging for infrastructure equity assets. Laurence Monnier considers the options for investors looking to complement qualitative assessments with quantitative rigour.

Herd-like lending behaviour is counter-productive and exacerbates real estate risks. Gregor Bamert argues a wider range of capital sources and investment approaches may help combat this in future.

The advent of tougher regulations after the global financial crisis led investors to think banks were safe. Was the Archegos scandal a wake-up call or much ado about nothing?

Deciding when to tighten the purse strings and hike taxes is complex at any time, and even more so when the economic fallout from COVID-19 remains unclear. Getting deficits – the gap between government spending and income – under control will need to happen eventually, but it would be a brave government that pursued such a goal now.

The market for sustainable bonds to fund activities that have a positive impact on the environment or society is booming. But there are many factors to consider before investing. Not least among them is a crucial question: is your money really being used to fund the activities promised?

Low interest rates, regulation and ESG risks are not new considerations for insurers’ investment strategies. However, the long-term fallout from COVID-19 is adding a layer of complexity they will need to adjust to.

In our monthly visual series on topical data themes, we look at whether Bitcoin could be the new gold, if COVID-19 has put pressure on London office rents, and the extent to which transport affects the carbon footprint of foods.

Talent, clusters and scale are three key reasons why Paris is one of the world’s most attractive office markets, explain Souad Cherfouh and Chris Urwin.

Debate over the short- and longer-term consequences of COVID-19 dominated the Spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund, with our emerging-market debt team among those following discussions closely.