ESG Data: Mainstream Consumption, Bigger Spending
January 9, 2019--While sustainability and financial investments are not necessarily connected, socially responsible investment (SRI) emerged in capital markets over the past decade and is now a permanent fixture.
A growing awareness of environmental, social and corporate issues and their potential negative financial impact has led investors to consider environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors in their investment process. Despite an inconsistency in the definition and heterogeneous regulations across the globe, the inclusion of ESG factors into the investment process is spreading beyond the once purely responsible investment sphere and is becoming a mainstream phenomenon. As a result, ESG data is increasingly in demand, and the market for it is growing fast, with numerous players entering the game.
Source: opimas.com
Study: High volatility significantly limits cryptocurrencies usefulness for portfolio diversification
January 9, 2019--Neither shocks to inflation expectations nor shocks to the yield curve significantly affect cryptocurrency market activity, according to new research.
Cryptocurrencies aren't really a traditional asset class since there's no significant relationship between the returns on cryptocurrencies and returns on traditional asset classes, according to new research.
There is a marginally significant correlation between the returns on cryptocurrencies and the returns on futures contracts on both gold and WTI crude oil, but cryptocurrencies' high volatility limits its usefulness for risk diversification and hedging.
Source: marketwatch.com
Volatility: how 'algos' changed the rhythm of the market
January 9, 2019--Critics say high-frequency trading makes markets too fickle amid rising anxiety over the global economy.
Philippe Jabre was the quintessential swashbuckling trader, slicing his way through markets first at GLG Partners and then an eponymous hedge fund he founded in 2007-at the time one of the industry's biggest-ever launches.
Source: FT.com
Hedge Funds Lost Almost 6% Last Year as Markets Roiled Managers
January 8, 2019--Equity hedge, CTA/managed futures led the declines in 2018
Funds slid 1.9% in December: Bloomberg Hedge Fund Database
Hedge funds posted a loss of 5.7 percent last year as managers struggled to capitalize on volatility and were roiled by political uncertainty.
For December, funds lost 1.9 percent, according to preliminary figures from the Bloomberg Hedge Fund Database.
Source: Bloomberg
Storm Clouds Are Brewing for the Global Economy
January 8, 2019--The outlook for the global economy in 2019 has darkened.
International trade and investment have softened. Trade tensions remain elevated. Several large emerging markets underwent substantial financial pressures last year.
Against this challenging backdrop, growth in emerging market and developing economies is expected to remain flat in 2019. The pickup in economies that rely heavily on commodity exports is likely to be much slower than hoped for. Growth in many other economies is anticipated to decelerate.
view the World Bank Global Economic Prospects Darkening Skies
Source: World Bank
U.S. Treasuries trading surged in December as front-end of yield curve inverted: Tradeweb
January 7, 2019--Average daily trading volume in U.S. Treasuries surged over 40 percent in December from a year earlier to almost $83 billion as the front end of the yield curve inverted for the first time in a decade, trading platform Tradeweb said on Monday.
In early December, yields on two-year U.S. government bonds rose above three and five-year bond yields for the first time since 2008, reflecting concerns about a U.S. economic slowdown.
Source: Reuters
Vanguard keeps title of fastest-growing fund manager
January 6, 2019--CEO Tim Buckley says zero-cost funds such as those offered by Fidelity are 'a gimmick'
Source: FT.com
10 predictions for the global economy in 2019
January 4, 2019--The global economy started 2018 with strong, synchronized growth. But as the year progressed, momentum faded and growth trends diverged. The US economy accelerated, thanks to fiscal stimulus enacted early in the year, while the economies of the Eurozone, the UK, Japan and China began to weaken.
These divergent trends will persist in 2019. IHS Markit predicts global growth will edge down from 3.2% in 2018 to 3.1% in 2019, and keep decelerating over the next few years.
Source: World Economic Forum
Natixis aims to join asset management push into China
January 4, 2019--French asset manager looks at acquisitions or ventures to tap Chinese savings pool
Source: FT.com
'Flash-Crash' Moves Hit Currency Markets
January 2, 2019--Apple's revenue outlook cut may have been a trigger: Jefferies
Yen will continue rally, could appreciate to 102: UBP
It took seven minutes for the yen to surge through levels that have held through almost a decade.
In those wild minutes from about 9:30 a.m. Sydney, the yen jumped almost 8 percent against the Australian dollar to its strongest since 2009, and surged 10 percent versus the Turkish lira.
Source: Bloomberg