M&G Investments

It is often easier to conceptualise ESG considerations when making investments at a corporate level. A company’s activities are often relatively narrow in focus, and forming a direct link between the company and those activities that we don’t support (polluting, gambling, smoking, drinking and so on) or those that we do (health, education, renewable resources) is usually relatively clear.

Please join Tom Dobell, fund manager of the M&G Recovery Fund, and other members of the Recovery Team as the fund celebrates its 50th birthday. During the webcast they will discuss why recovery investing is as relevant today as when the fund launched, their outlook on the UK market and why this presents a favourable picture for recovery investing and how the fund is positioned. 

Following two years of debate against Tech giants, Mark Zuckerberg wrote an article asking for regulation

This March marks the 10-year anniversary of the longest bull market in history that has been ploughing on in the US since early March 2009. The S&P 500 Index has delivered a staggering 400% in total returns over the decade. In addition, the US economic cycle is the second longest…

While responsible investment is hardly a new concept, there is a fair degree of confusion around some of the more recently introduced terminology – namely what is meant by ‘ESG’ (environmental, social and governance) and how this fits into the spectrum of traditional ‘ethical’ investing, ‘sustainable’ investing and ‘impact’ investing.

Not that we needed anybody’s reassurance, but the UK government’s decision that pension fund trustees must consider financially material ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) factors in their assessments, definitely helps those who believe that sustainability is becoming a need more than a choice – for society and investors alike.

It’s no secret that UK retailers have struggled in 2018. The pressures faced by those at the sharp end of competition from online shopping and changing tastes, often combined with their own challenges, have been well documented.

Emerging Markets (EM) debt had a torrid 2018 as global macro risks (including general geopolitics and trade wars), softer EM growth and idiosyncratic stories (Argentina, Turkey), all repriced relatively expensive valuations at the beginning of the year. Are the new prices a better reflection of fundamentals? This will largely depend on the evolution of 5 key topics.

The new year has started with a blunt reminder of probably everything that investors wanted to forget over the holiday season: economic data is worsening while the oil price continues to fall, dragging down equities and the most equity-like fixed income asset classes. Traditional safe-havens continue to rally, as they did in 2018.

Whilst you can make some strong arguments for the negative returns from 90% of asset classes in 2018 based on the return of populist politics – think of Brexit, Italy’s political instability, AMLO’s election in Mexico and tariffs everywhere – the answer to those negative returns might be simpler: the de facto global discount rate, the 2-year US Treasury bond yield, has risen by almost 100 basis points (bps) over the year, and thus repriced global assets. Why did this happen?

Please join us for Majoring on the Macro, a series of CPD-accredited seminars. M&G’s Julian Hince will present on the macro-economic outlook for the global economy, as well introduce ESG investing. Accompanied by speakers from Prudential, who will present on the opportunities to mitigate the effects of Inheritance Tax.

Corporate, Emerging, Currency and Commodity markets – almost everyone but traditional safe-havens – had an early Halloween week on mounting concerns over challenged US corporate profits and dismal European PMI and Chinese growth data.

Join us on Thursday 25th October at 10am where we will discuss the M&G Emerging Markets Bond Fund with the deputy fund manager, Charles de Quinsonas. During the webcast, Charles will be asked his views on the current environment following recent volatility in the asset class, as well as the relative value of hard and local currency government and corporate bonds. Finally, he will discuss the current positioning of the portfolio and where he sees opportunity and risk.

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One candidate has been stabbed and a former potential one is in prison. It is not a movie but the run up to a general election in the world’s eighth largest economy, and one that can set the mode for Emerging Markets afterwards. What are the polls telling us and how could bond and stock markets react?

Tune in to hear four of M&G’s leading fund managers as they discuss the economic backdrop, markets and where they see challenges and opportunities for investors today.

Last Saturday marked exactly 10 years since Lehman Brothers went bust. Are we still suffering the consequences of the Global Financial Crisis that followed? Had the crisis not occurred, would we have today’s political uncertainty? Watch M&G fund manager Wolfgang Bauer and Investment Director Ana Gil discuss how the clash between growth and political risk are driving markets today, and what opportunities such dynamic might present.

Gold posted its fifth straight monthly drop and has fallen almost 8% YTD despite escalating trade tensions and geopolitical risks. In this month’s update, Ritu Vohora, Investment Director looks at why the precious metal seems to have lost its lustre and safe haven status.

Volatility in the US Treasury market has broken records this summer, reaching lows not seen since the 1960s. This can’t just be attributed to the summer lull, so what has been going on?  In this week’s episode of BVTV, Laura Frost, Investment Director looks at the opposing forces that have been at work, and examine what influence these have had on the US dollar. Inevitably, most answers lead back to President Trump.