Recent thinking
Equities
Pricing power is the magic ingredient for equity investors
27 Nov 2020
Evidence that a company wields pricing power in its industry is the best indication of a sustainable competitive advantage, argues Giles Parkinson.
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Responsible Investing
The client lens: An interview with Faith Ward
19 Nov 2020
Brunel Pension Partnership’s chief responsible investment officer discusses climate change, greenwashing and the urgent need to repair flaws in the financial system.
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Real Assets
Navigating the path to net zero: An interview with Jill Rutter
12 Nov 2020
There is a large gulf between the concept of ‘net zero’ and the practical policies that will deliver it. Jill Rutter, senior fellow at the Institute for Government, takes a hard look at the UK’s progress towards the 2050 target.
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Responsible Investing
Carbon capture: Solution or pipedream?
10 Nov 2020
Reducing the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is becoming an increasingly urgent priority in the fight against climate change. Both new and established pathways to remove the gas are under scrutiny, as decision makers around the globe grapple with how to take the most effective action.
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Fixed income
Sustainability in credit: Why ESG scores don’t tell the whole story
5 Nov 2020
ESG ratings are a helpful baseline to assess companies, but views on their ESG risks and opportunities can be honed – and sometimes corrected – through deeper research, trend analysis and meetings with company executives.
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Equities
Once bitten, twice shy: Is there value in tech by avoiding the FAANGs?
30 Oct 2020
The gravity-defying rally in technology shares has led some commentators to draw comparisons with the dot.com bubble of the late 1990s. However, Mikhail Zverev and Alistair Way believe there are still opportunities to be found in some of the sector’s less-fashionable stocks.
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The Little Book of Data
29 Oct 2020
Our annual showcase of the most beautiful, concise and insightful data visualisations we have found in the past year, The Little Book of Data 3 aims to provide investors with a different perspective of the world, helping to bring about more informed decisions.
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Fixed income
US Election 2020: Expect the unexpected
29 Oct 2020
As the US presidential election looms, we explore potential scenarios – from a Democratic “blue sweep” to a Trump re-election to a divided government – and assess the implications for investors.
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Real Assets
Real assets and net zero: Now for the hard part
29 Oct 2020
There is no lack of willingness among investors in real assets to play their part in helping countries reach net zero by 2050. But much needs to change – and quickly, as Laurence Monnier explains.
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Insurance
Race, ethnicity and investing: Practice what you preach
28 Oct 2020
In the second article in our series on racism, we explain why asset managers need to get their own house in order to be a credible agent for change at the companies they invest in.
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Insurance
Race, ethnicity and investing: A time for action
28 Oct 2020
In the first of a two-part series on anti-black racism, we look at five areas asset managers need to focus on if their engagement efforts are to make a positive difference.
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Fixed income
Global high yield: Stimulus fuels the march of the zombies
27 Oct 2020
Zombie companies are the talk of the town. Will they limp on forever, storing up potential trouble for investors’ portfolios, or can they revive and thrive after the COVID crisis?
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Real Assets
Remote working is on the rise, but the office remains indispensable
26 Oct 2020
While the COVID-19 lockdown has highlighted the possibilities of home working, bringing people together in offices is still the best way to spur innovation and productivity, says Jonathan Bayfield.
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Insurance
Prime time: How streaming is reshaping film and TV
22 Oct 2020
The last ten years have seen the film and television industry transform beyond recognition. In the latest instalment of our editorial series, Link, experts from our credit and equity teams discuss whether streaming will continue its inexorable reshaping of the media landscape.
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Equities
Turn and face the change: How to invest dynamically in an uncertain world
21 Oct 2020
Equity markets are slow to price in the implications of change. This creates opportunities for dynamic, style-agnostic investors to take advantage, argue Caroline Galligan and David Cumming.
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Economic Research
Suga rush: Can Japan’s new PM deliver on reform promises?
20 Oct 2020
Former Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga has replaced Shinzo Abe, Japan’s longest serving prime minister. As he faces the twin challenges of leading the country out of a pandemic and pushing through much-needed structural reforms, what can investors expect from the new administration?
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The Little Book of Data
Visual vignettes to help us better understand the world and provoke thought, sign up to receive our hard copy coffee table book of data visualisations, The Little Book of Data.
AIQ Features
Roll of the dice: Risk and resilience in an age of uncertainty
21 Jul 2020
The coronavirus pandemic has highlighted the difficulties of managing risk in an increasingly globalised and interconnected world. We explore how organisations can stay resilient through an era of radical change.
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The evolution of ESG: More than just a risk mitigator
21 Jul 2020
Once dismissed as a virtuous endeavour that compromised investment returns, the ability to gain a more holistic view of risk by considering environmental, social and governance factors is increasingly appreciated by investors. We assess the evolution of ESG across asset classes, as well as its role as a risk mitigator and opportunity spotter.
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The Technocrat: Lord Adair Turner
21 Jul 2020
With developed economies stuck in a high-debt and low interest rate trap, the former head of Britain’s financial watchdog believes central banks should break a long-held taboo and finance governments directly.
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Economics and ethics: Why diversity matters
21 Jul 2020
In business, diversity can be the difference between success and failure. But while progress towards it has been frustratingly slow in many areas, the pressure is mounting on companies to act.
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Pandemic risk: When will we learn our lesson?
21 Jul 2020
COVID-19 has reminded us that the sources of economic and financial crises can be wildly unpredictable. However, while spotting patient zero in advance was nigh on impossible, pandemic risk was well telegraphed. In the first part of our mini-series, The source of the next crisis, we consider whether an infectious disease could wrong-foot us again or whether governments will learn their lesson.
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Cybersecurity in the fourth industrial revolution
21 Jul 2020
COVID-19 shocked investors into taking pandemic risks more seriously. In an increasingly connected world, where data is the new oil, could cyberattacks be the next big threat?
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Inflation hawks: Crying wolf?
21 Jul 2020
Twelve years on from the financial crisis, inflation hawks are back. They were proved wrong then, but could this time be different? In part three of our mini-series on the source of the next crisis, we explore the extent to which inflation poses a risk to the global economy and financial stability.
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Geopolitics: Could the coronavirus pandemic lead to a new Cold War?
21 Jul 2020
The US-China relationship has deteriorated in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. What does this geopolitical rivalry mean for the global economy and markets?
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Nature and neglect: The era of ecological disasters
21 Jul 2020
As the frequency and ferocity of natural hazards increase, in part five of our mini-series on the source of the next crisis AIQ considers the economic and investment implications and what we can learn from past mistakes.
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The Economist: John Kay
21 Jul 2020
AIQ speaks to economist and author John Kay about risk, uncertainty and the longer-term implications of the coronavirus pandemic.
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The risks on the savings and retirement journey
21 Jul 2020
COVID-19 has caused significant volatility in financial markets, creating headaches for defined contribution pension schemes seeking to deliver robust outcomes. Overcoming this requires a full map of risks along the savings and retirement journey, argues Francois de Bruin.
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Policy moves into the great unknown, but at what cost?
21 Jul 2020
Policymakers are dreaming up ever more radical experiments to try and pull economies out of what could be the deepest recession in living memory. But until the world can cure its addiction to debt, financial markets will remain on a knife edge.
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Trial and error: The value of learning from mistakes
21 Jul 2020
A common characteristic of successful people and organisations is an ability to recognise and quickly learn from their mistakes. UK Equity Income Fund Manager Chris Murphy shares the lessons he has learned from an eventful career.
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Will COVID-19 concentrate corporate power
21 Jul 2020
The fallout from the coronavirus pandemic could see large firms cement their dominance over weaker rivals. We examine the implications for investors.
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Resilience in credit: All calm for now, but big tests lie in store
17 Jul 2020
For credit investors, resilience is about taking appropriate levels of risk, understanding market dynamics, and identifying companies best prepared for the future. All these qualities could be tested given the wide range of possible outcomes as the world begins to recover from COVID-19.
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Real assets and the quest for resilient income
6 Jul 2020
COVID-19 has made life harder for already yield-starved investors, and each asset class faces its own challenges. We draw on the latest thinking from our Real Assets House View and research team to highlight where reliable income sources can still be found in real asset markets.
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AIQ Client Matters
Race, ethnicity and investing: Practice what you preach
28 Oct 2020
In the second article in our series on racism, we explain why asset managers need to get their own house in order to be a credible agent for change at the companies they invest in.
Read more
Race, ethnicity and investing: A time for action
28 Oct 2020
In the first of a two-part series on anti-black racism, we look at five areas asset managers need to focus on if their engagement efforts are to make a positive difference.
Read more
Prime time: How streaming is reshaping film and TV
22 Oct 2020
The last ten years have seen the film and television industry transform beyond recognition. In the latest instalment of our editorial series, Link, experts from our credit and equity teams discuss whether streaming will continue its inexorable reshaping of the media landscape.
Read more
Home and leisure in a pandemic: Girls (and boys) still want to have fun
13 Oct 2020
From cinemas to cruises, the consumer-driven home and leisure sector was hit hard by lockdown restrictions. With economies reopening in a disjointed manner, some sub-sectors have rebounded quickly while others continue to struggle. Here, we look at how the pandemic is reshaping the industry and the implications for investors.
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When equity becomes debt: The untapped potential of amortising-lease real estate
9 Oct 2020
Pension schemes seeking alternatives to bonds may find amortising leases a compelling option, writes Luke Layfield.
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Five charts that show Manchester is a city of the future
20 Aug 2020
In this short, visual article we present five charts that show why Manchester is such a rich, vibrant and economically prosperous city. Our view is that the ingredients of connectivity, culture, talent, scale and scientific heritage make the city well-equipped to thrive in the coming years and decades.
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The AIQ Podcast: Risk and resilience in an age of uncertainty
11 Aug 2020
The latest episode of the AIQ podcast explores the nature of risk in an uncertain world. How can we stay resilient when the unexpected occurs?
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Education, entrepreneurship and biological age: An interview with Andrew Scott
6 Aug 2020
In part two of our interview with Professor Andrew Scott from London Business School, we look at how policy will shift to take account of people living for longer and how service providers will respond.
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Longevity, policy and technology: An interview with Andrew Scott
6 Aug 2020
Living longer brings enormous opportunities to reshape how we spend our time. But in the first of a two-part interview, Andrew Scott from London Business School explains how advances in longevity and technology have not been matched by innovation in social structures or our approach to financial planning.
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Where can investors put cash to work when rates go negative?
30 Jul 2020
Just when investors thought they couldn’t sink any lower, the economic shock caused by COVID-19 has put further downward pressure on interest rates in developed markets. Caroline Hedges, head of global liquidity portfolio management at Aviva Investors, looks at the impact on money market funds.
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Defined Benefit pensions de-risking: A covenant and investment view
23 Jun 2020
In the midst of the COVID-19 shock, Felix Mantz from Lincoln Pensions and Joachim Sudre from Aviva Investors explore how defined benefit pension schemes should plan their journey towards an end game and adopt a more holistic approach to risk.
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COVID-19: Will credit markets remain open for business?
1 May 2020
While concerns around credit market liquidity have been rising since the global financial crisis, the COVID-19 sell-off has highlighted how fragile liquidity can be during periods of real stress. Colin Purdie discusses the short- and long-term implications for investment grade and high yield credit globally.
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RPI may be flawed, but changes shouldn’t cost pensioners and investors
16 Mar 2020
With the start of the consultation for proposed changes to the measurement of inflation in the UK, we look at the likely impact to asset classes, the assets most affected, and the key issues investors should be aware of.
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Climate risk for insurers
12 Dec 2019
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.
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Five charts that will make you think differently about retirement
23 Aug 2019
Retiring at 60 is a relatively new concept, and possibly a short-lived one in our history. As populations age – and age better – people are looking at a host of ways to stay in work and sustain their retirement income. We present five charts that sum up the changing landscape.
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Self-sufficiency for pension schemes: Keep on running?
28 May 2019
Boris Mikhailov and Matthew Graham look at the benefits and risks for pension schemes targeting self-sufficiency.
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House View
A quarterly publication which encapsulates the thinking of our investment team.
Executive Summary
A summary of our outlook for economies and markets.
Key investment themes and risks
The six key themes and risks which our House View team expect to drive financial markets.
Macro forecasts: charts and commentary
Our round-up of major economies; featuring charts and commentary.
Global market outlook and asset allocation
What our House View means for asset allocation and portfolio construction.
Webcast
Keep up-to-date with our latest thoughts on financial markets by joining our interactive sessions.
Macro House View Q2 2020: COVID-19 and the economy – can the engine restart?
Join us for a quick discussion with Stewart Robertson, Senior Economist, and Jerome Nunan, Investment Director, Multi-Asset, as they discuss how COVID-19 and the containment measures implemented by governments around the world to deal with it have impacted our latest House View.