Tom Howard

Beijing’s ideological battle to stamp out COVID-19 appears increasingly misguided as the rest of the world learns to live with the virus. But the impact of China’s approach will be felt far beyond its borders.

Our real assets research team crunch the data to see whether the effects of rising inflation and interest rates are being reflected in private market returns.

In this month’s instalment of our visual series on topical themes, we look at whether the global economy is heading towards stagflation.

Government bonds have not acted as safe haven assets recently. Sunil Krishnan explores whether this spells the end of the traditional 60/40 allocation in multi-asset portfolios.

The idea that human actions are bringing natural systems close to breakdown, threatening livelihoods and financial stability, is making asset managers think harder about nature risk and the environmental dependencies in investee companies.

Russia’s war in Ukraine has contributed to soaring food prices, supercharging global inflation. Poorer countries will likely be hardest hit, adding to the risk of social unrest. With public finances and incomes already under strain, emerging-market debt investors should be on high alert.

Reaching net zero by 2050 will require significant injections of capital. But it is also an opportunity to rethink social relationships, as Professor Nick Robins explains.

Reflecting on ESG risks in the pharmaceutical industry, Sora Utzinger discusses supply chains and counterfeit medicines, access to painkillers, and the ethics of gene editing.

In this month’s instalment of our visual series on topical themes, we explore the world of biodiversity.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has led to ESG receiving widespread flak. While much of the criticism is unjustified, the episode underlines how many issues related to ESG are complex and involve trade-offs. Investment approaches may need fine tuning, especially if the geopolitical landscape continues to change so rapidly.

Resistance to antibiotics is already killing millions. Professor Dame Sally Davies, UK Special Envoy on Antimicrobial Resistance, spoke to AIQ on the latest developments to counter antimicrobial resistance Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) in the UK and globally.

As life returns to some form of normality, governments are free to move their focus from COVID-19 to left-behind communities and delivering a just transition. This is important to secure long-term economic outcomes, but also comes with investment opportunities and risks.

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.

With high levels of inflation persisting around the world, central banks must tighten policy without hurting consumer demand and economic growth. This will be more difficult for some central banks than others, says Sunil Krishnan.

One year on from publishing our 2040 net-zero pathway for real assets, Ed Dixon talks through some of the key highlights, challenges and priorities for 2022.

In this month’s instalment of our visual series on topical themes, we look at how various asset classes are holding up in a turbulent year for financial markets.