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Twelve months ago, as we wrote our annual review and forecast for 2019, backing 10-year German government bonds that were yielding just 0.24% at the time to perform would have been a brave call.

Suffice to say we were among those that did not predict that yield would fall from 0.24% on January 1 to -0.37% as of December 1 (hitting a barely believable low of -0.71% along the way), delivering a handy return of 6% for the first 11 months of the year.

Capital markets are still being driven by the hope of reaching an agreement in trade talks. Currently our models are further reducing the equity allocation and increasing the negative positioning for bonds. More detailed information is available in the latest GMO issue.

Like the poor souls in Monty Python’s comedy Life of Brian, economists tend to whistle an upbeat tune in the face of adversity. Therefore, we look on the bright side of 2020 with an unchanged risk-on stance, screaming newspaper headlines notwithstanding. And frankly, things aren’t as bad as they seem.

By now investors should be getting used to the ever more frequent hiccups in the trade negotiations between the US and the rest of the world.

Why did so many well educated and well meaning people not take the plastic tsunami seriously until an island of the stuff became headline news?

Residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) are an under-utilised asset class for many investors, despite boasting some of the lowest default rates across the global fixed income market and offering higher yields and greater investor protections than vanilla corporate bonds of the same rating.

"In some parts of the global economy, we might be seeing a bottom in terms of low activity levels." TwentyFour's Felipe Villarroel discusses the factors behind these improving trends.

ESG investors might think of themselves as sailors lacking a proper map, as many ESG rating agencies are giving conflicting advice on how to navigate using emerging tools. Learn more about the 10 challenges with ESG ratings and how you can tackle them.

“NIBC, has been involved in ESG/CSR focused lending in Europe for some time, and is the first manager to issue what we might call an ESG CLO." Elena Rinaldi discusses why in terms of ESG, NIBC would receive a high score from us.