When it comes to disruption, people typically talk about technology and its impact on jobs, society, and the global economy. But disruption is also happening in the once sleepy world of fixed income, where several critical trends are reshaping the space. According to Owen Murfin, institutional portfolio manager, MFS Investment Management, there are four key […]
While no one can know for certain if inflation is coming bank, David Zanutto, senior investment consultant at Mercer, says that the risks of inflation moving higher have increased. He points particularly to low levels of unemployment, which could translate to wage growth and higher inflation. Other factors that could lead to higher inflation include […]
Uncertainty on how U.S. and Chinese policies will affect trade, Italy’s budget standoff with the European Commission, worry over Brexit and the U.S. Federal Reserve’s monetary policy all imply volatility for the coming year, according to Russell Investment Canada Ltd.’s 2019 market outlook. The firm is remaining neutral on equities and underweight U.S. stock, though it’s maintaining a more […]
Canadian taxpayers are providing $22 billion each year to the country’s public sector pension plans by assuming undisclosed investment risks, according to a new report by public policy think-tank the Fraser Institute. In the report, its author Malcolm Hamilton suggested public pension funds view the income they provide to plan members on retirement as 20 […]
While many investors expect the U.S. bull market to end in 2019, some institutional investors are planning changes to their allocation strategy or return assumptions, according to a new survey by Natixis Investment Managers. The survey found about two-thirds of institutional investors expect the U.S. bull market to end in 2019, while 70 per cent […]
While global institutional investors’ ability to analyze fixed income products on environmental, social and governance factors is growing, the supply of socially or eco-savvy bonds isn’t keeping up with demand, according to new research by Cerulli Associates. “Cerulli research shows an increase in demand for ESG in all segments of the fixed-income market,” said André Schnurrenberger, […]
Though President Trump hasn’t been successful in following through his promise to construct a wall on the border between the United States and Mexico, he’s certainly stoked serious divisionism, with signals popping up the world over that nations are tugging on their drawbridges where trade, migration and other economic activities are concerned. Whether it’s the […]
The number of indexes at an investor’s fingertips grew by 12 per cent (or 438,000) in 2018, rising to 3.72 million distinct indexes globally as of June 30, 2018, according to a new report by the Index Industry Association. The association, which began tracking the world’s indexes in 2017, found fixed income was a popular theme during the […]
Seventy per cent of all capital committed to private credit is from institutional investors, according to a recent report by the Alternative Credit Council and Dechert LLP. Jiří Krόl, deputy chief executive officer of the Alternative Credit Council and the Alternative Investment Management Association, says that although private credit is a relatively new asset class, it has been […]
Increasing exposure to less liquid, alternative assets like infrastructure, real estate and private equity hasn’t created difficulty for Canadian pensions in repaying creditors, according to a report by Moody’s Corp. As pension portfolios have increased their allocations to alternatives, with these assets now making up close to 40 per cent of Canadian plan’s investments, concerns around liquidity […]