Recent thinking
-
Economic Research
Disability inclusion in the workplace: Taking down the barriers
28 Sep 2023
Disabled employees continue to face a variety of hurdles to cope with in addition to their day job. We look at how employers can help remove those barriers to allow everyone to thrive.
-
Equities
Multi-asset allocation views: Cutting through the noise
27 Sep 2023
Issues around US tech, China, US Treasuries and Japanese monetary policy have hit the headlines in recent weeks. Sunil Krishnan explains how taking a long-term view can help multi-asset investors cut through the noise.
-
Multi-asset & multi-strategy
Bond investing: Five things to know about fixed income
15 Sep 2023
In this article, we explain key concepts of bond investing, such as yield and duration, explore the role of bonds in investment portfolios and look at the current state of the bond markets.
-
Real Assets
Relative value in real assets: Q2 2023
14 Sep 2023
Our real assets research team drill into proprietary data to compare risk and return across sectors, drawing out those showing most relative value.
-
Multi-asset & multi-strategy
The cash conundrum: Five things to know about cash, saving and investing
14 Sep 2023
In this article, we explore the logic behind holding assets in cash, the difference between saving and investment, and why a longer-term focus may help investors achieve their objectives.
-
Fixed income
Navigating uncertainty and avoiding underperformers: Plotting a course for the long term in buy-and-maintain credit
13 Sep 2023
As the current economic cycle draws to a close, our buy-and-maintain team discuss opportunities and risks in credit markets.
-
Equities
The big dig: How mining could power a greener future
12 Sep 2023
Clean energy technologies are set to drive growth in demand for critical minerals over the next two decades, throwing up a rich seam of investment opportunities – and challenges.
-
Responsible Investing
When the chips are down: Geopolitics threatens the semiconductor boom
11 Sep 2023
While the semiconductor industry should see strong demand thanks to the rise in artificial intelligence and cloud computing, geopolitical and supply-chain risks loom.
-
Liquidity
Three, two, one…Cash returns set for lift-off
7 Sep 2023
With interest rates set to remain higher for longer and inflation gradually falling, money market funds can offer investors a way to access positive real yields on cash, says Alastair Sewell.
-
Responsible Investing
Deals delayed and crowded trades…But investors can still find value in infrastructure debt
4 Sep 2023
Private infrastructure debt still offers a broad spectrum of opportunities, but investors face complex challenges. In this Q&A, our infrastructure debt team contemplate the current state of the market and where it goes from here.
-
Fixed income
Mad about the boy: Understanding the economic and investment impacts of El Niño
25 Aug 2023
How much do ocean circulation patterns impact economic outcomes and sovereign risk? Rick Stathers and Carmen Altenkirch assess El Niño, the climate phenomenon driving atmospheric circulation in the tropics, affecting everything from GDP to inflation and social stability.
-
Fixed income
Staying the course: The ongoing appeal of investment-grade credit
24 Aug 2023
James Vokins and Chris Higham explain why investment-grade bonds still offer value despite persistent market uncertainty.
-
Liquidity
Better late than never: European Commission constructive on money market funds
23 Aug 2023
After the European Commission released its long-awaited assessment report on European money market fund regulation, Alastair Sewell discusses the main implications for investors.
-
Equities
Tipping points and transformation: Getting on the right side of change
16 Aug 2023
Rapid changes in the global economy could tip some sectors into low-carbon phases faster than incumbents expect, with important investment implications.
-
What does the data say?
What does the data say? Five charts for multi-asset investors
9 Aug 2023
We take a visual approach to explain what’s happening with UK inflation, web traffic for ChatGPT and Threads, and the slower-than-expected recovery of China’s economy.
-
Fixed income
The heat is on: Opportunities and risks for climate-focused bond investors
8 Aug 2023
Thomas Chinery and Justine Vroman discuss current conditions in the investment-grade market, the ECB’s “green QT” programme, and why oil and gas firms must go further and faster to decarbonise.
AIQ: Beyond Climate
In this edition of AIQ, we look at the risks and opportunities associated with natural and social capital.

The Little Book of Data
A collection of visualised data showcasing a range of themes including data and technology, diversity and inclusion, and markets and economics all brought together in one book resulting in an expressive and stunning compilation.

The AIQ Podcast
We sit down with some of the best minds in economics, finance and academia to break down important ideas in investing, challenge conventional thinking, and have a bit of fun. The AIQ Podcast brings you the ideas that matter, the intuition behind the results, and the understanding to apply them.

Macro House View
Our House View represents the best collective judgement of Aviva Investors on the current and future investment environment.
AIQ features
-
Deep water: Ten threats to marine ecosystems
Our air, weather, food, the health of diverse marine life and millions of jobs all depend on the ocean. But we have not done well as custodians of marine ecosystems. Here, we set out ten ways where human actions threaten the health of an essential environment.
-
Levelling up: Investing towards a new social contract
As we learn to live with COVID-19, focus is returning to delivering a just transition. This is important to secure long-term investment outcomes, but also presents direct opportunities.
-
Back to nature: Why we must act now on the biodiversity crisis
In an age of mass extinctions, policymakers, businesses and financial institutions are beginning to acknowledge the risks associated with biodiversity loss, along with the opportunities that arise from nature-positive solutions.
-
Power to the people: The moral and investment case for human rights
Healthy and happy employees, consumers, and communities are all critical ingredients in a company’s long-term success. Investors have a key responsibility in ensuring the rights of these groups are respected.
-
Change diets, not the planet: The link between food and sustainability
We explore how shifting diets can help create a more sustainable world.
-
Tough gig: How to improve the platform economy
Companies operating in the gig economy have been subject to industrial action and legal challenges. Workers say they are being denied basic rights; platforms reply this is the price of flexibility. But there is a viable middle-ground which can be beneficial for all, including investors.
-
Valuing nature: An interview with Elizabeth Maruma Mrema
In this interview, AIQ catches up with Tanzanian biodiversity leader and lawyer Elizabeth Maruma Mrema about the threat of biodiversity loss, the recent Kunming Declaration and missed Aichi Biodiversity Targets, as well as the role of finance in protecting nature.
-
Waste not, want not: An investor’s guide to the circular economy
Using the examples of electronics, food, autos and fashion, we explore the benefits of, and challenges to achieving, a more circular economy.
-
A fair COP: Why social justice is vital to climate action
For too long, issues of justice and equality have been left out of the climate conversation. But policymakers, companies and investors are slowly beginning to acknowledge the social dimensions of climate action.
-
We need to talk about waste: Tackling renewable energy’s dirty secret
Renewable energy has a vital role to play if the world is to combat climate change. But its widespread adoption comes with a price. As older installations come to the end of their useful life, countries urgently need to work out what to do with the waste.
-
Cleaning up: Transforming finance for a net zero-world
To align with net-zero emissions targets, the financial system needs a radical transformation. Can it get there and, if it does, what should it look like in 2050?
-
Counting emissions and accounting omissions: The struggle to measure, monitor and manage corporate net-zero efforts
Internalise the climate externality. That is the major task facing policymakers and corporate executives. However, this requires accurate measurement and incorporation into financial accounts and neither are straightforward.
-
Law and climate: Using the legal stick to accelerate change
Energy majors, cement producers, utilities and financial services providers are among the latest targets of legal action designed to make them move faster towards a lower carbon world. Could this be an inflection point, as the conversation turns to specific responsibilities rather than vague commitments to change?
-
Pricing carbon: Taxing polluters is the only way forward
Nearly three decades after it first agreed to tackle climate change, the world has failed miserably to curb the growth in CO2 emissions. To succeed, it urgently needs to establish an effective price for carbon.
-
The going gets tough: Can heavy industry decarbonise?
Heavy industry and heavy transport are hard to decarbonise, but this must be done to reach net-zero emissions by 2050. Can companies, policymakers and investors join forces to make it happen? The race is on…
-
Supply-chain ripples: The positive spillovers of decarbonising upstream emissions
Some of the world’s biggest companies are setting ambitious net-zero targets, with significant implications for their supply chains. How impactful could the ripple effect be in helping to meet the goals set out in the Paris Agreement?
AIQ client matters
-
Three, two, one…Cash returns set for lift-off
With interest rates set to remain higher for longer and inflation gradually falling, money market funds can offer investors a way to access positive real yields on cash, says Alastair Sewell.
-
Deals delayed and crowded trades…But investors can still find value in infrastructure debt
Private infrastructure debt still offers a broad spectrum of opportunities, but investors face complex challenges. In this Q&A, our infrastructure debt team contemplate the current state of the market and where it goes from here.
-
Mad about the boy: Understanding the economic and investment impacts of El Niño
How much do ocean circulation patterns impact economic outcomes and sovereign risk? Rick Stathers and Carmen Altenkirch assess El Niño, the climate phenomenon driving atmospheric circulation in the tropics, affecting everything from GDP to inflation and social stability.
-
Better late than never: European Commission constructive on money market funds
After the European Commission released its long-awaited assessment report on European money market fund regulation, Alastair Sewell discusses the main implications for investors.
-
Tipping points and transformation: Getting on the right side of change
Rapid changes in the global economy could tip some sectors into low-carbon phases faster than incumbents expect, with important investment implications.
-
Over(shooting) the limit: Why we need to keep within planetary boundaries
Demand for fuel and raw materials is decimating the natural world, making extreme climate effects more likely. So, what might the world be like for people and investors as we go beyond planetary boundaries?
-
Cash is king (again): Higher rates spurring interest in money market funds
Members of Aviva Investors’ liquidity team explain why rising global interest rates and problems in the US banking sector are fuelling demand for money market funds.
-
Waiting games and funding gaps: A mixed picture for real estate debt
The higher rates regime is testing borrowers everywhere. Gregor Bamert considers the implications for real estate debt.
-
Plug in and power up: How EV-charging infrastructure can help future-proof real assets portfolios
As the transition away from petrol-powered cars to electric vehicles accelerates, demand for charging points is rising. We explore the implications for investors in real assets.
-
Playing the long game in EMD: Why patience and persistence should reward long-term investors
Despite short-term headwinds, Liam Spillane and Michael McGill argue emerging-market debt continues to offer attractive prospects for long-term investors.
-
A broad palette: Enhancing the chances of success in high yield
Pierre Ceyrac and Mark Miller explain the benefits of a global approach when investing in high yield.
-
Demand, diversification and discounts: Where next for real estate long income?
With interest rates and inflation remaining elevated, Renos Booth, Isabel Gossling and Kris McPhail discuss what long-income strategies can deliver.
-
Flex appeal: Could private debt investors be set for a once in a generation opportunity?
Ewan Macaulay outlines why private debt markets in real assets offer compelling relative-value opportunities, despite macroeconomic uncertainty.
-
Can they, should they, will they? Is now the time for illiquid assets in DC?
What role could private assets play in UK defined-contribution pension schemes, where decision-makers are searching for returns and diversification? Heather Brown from our UK pensions team consults a panel of specialists.
-
Global megatrends: How climate, nature and social change will reshape economies
Climate change, natural resource scarcity and social shifts are transforming the corporate landscape. Investors need to understand the implications of these sustainability megatrends to manage risks and seize opportunities.
-
When the tide goes out
Ben Sanderson explains why polarisation in real estate investment performance is only going to increase from here.