Sharing our convictions

The end of rising interest rates in Europe and the US, attractive yields, and lower-than-expected default rates mean investors can get higher income without taking on as much risk as they had to in the past. In our view, less volatile, high quality fixed income products are poised for strong performance in 2024.

A company’s competitive advantages are referred to as its moat. Far from castles and the countryside, it is important to analyze the strength and durability of a company’s moat before investing. Since moats can be wide or narrow and change over time, competitive advantages must be constantly monitored.

Many US investors are overweight domestic versus international strategies for the wrong reasons – home bias and benchmark anchoring. In our view, investors should focus on great companies, regardless of where they are domiciled. An active international strategy can help US investors expand their opportunity set, diversify risks, and improve their portfolio returns.

Japan’s economic success story after World War II was like a phoenix rising from the ashes. But it didn’t last, resulting in the “Lost Decade” and China subsequently taking its place as the world’s second-largest economy. Comparing the Japan of yesteryear with today’s China raises the question whether China could soon face a similar fate.

Adding women to corporate boards can improve the impact a board has on company performance. Yet progress has been slow. Companies that recruit former CFOs and CEOs simply cannot find enough female board members. Expanding talent pools can bring more women into the fold.

Over the last decade investors have been forced to broaden their horizons, but many investors continue to overlook Emerging Market Local Currency Debt. Our Fixed income team offers five reasons why you should think about giving emerging markets local currency a more permanent allocation in your investment portfolio.

Almost a year ago to the day, we were in the midst of banking sector turmoil, which started off with regional banks in the US and spilled over to Europe, eventually culminating in the forced merger between Swiss banks UBS and Credit Suisse.  

We believe answers to critical questions about weight loss drugs will help determine the sustainability of success that some pharmaceutical stocks have enjoyed: How many people will be on the drug, and at what price? Which pharma company will be the winner of the R&D race?

After some troubled years, bonds are back. In a big way. Our team explains the reasons why we believe bonds are poised to be one of the most attractive risk/reward propositions of the coming year.

The January US consumer price index (CPI) data came in stronger than expected with core month-on-month figures coming in at 0.4 % (0.3% expected) and year-on-year figures at 3.9% (3.7% expected) but unchanged from December’s 3.9% print.

What does the environment look like for Credit in 2024? And what are the fundamentals for emerging-market corporates this year? Wouter Van Overfelt and Mondher Bettaieb-Loriot discuss some of the hot topics for fixed income in emerging markets and developed markets, respectively.

Over time the definition of quality has broadened and become subject to a variety of interpretations, with sometimes significant divergence in the performance of quality strategies depending on market conditions.

In this Back to Basics webinar, Aza Teeuwen (Partner, Co-Head of ABS) and Douglas Charleston, (Partner, Co-Head of ABS) provided a comprehensive understanding of the key aspects and trends within the European RMBS market.

Is a company that sells a $300 t-shirt a better investment than one that sells a $10 t-shirt? The answer lies in the strength of a company’s brand and, in turn, its pricing power. Or course, profit margins are an important consideration.

David Souccar, portfolio manager and senior research analyst, explains why, in the quest for quality, your portfolio shopping basket would be incomplete without a trip to the international aisle.

Yesterday was an eventful day for markets. We started off with inflation data in Europe, followed by an earnings release by New York Community Bank that showed large provisions in their commercial real estate loan book, before moving onto the Fed’s Federal Open Market Committee meeting

Are stock markets poised for a good year in 2024? Jean-Louis Nakamura, head of the Convictions Equities Boutique takes a comprehensive look at the various factors that indicate it may well be.

January is on track to be a standout month for EM debt issuance. Our Fixed Income boutique’s Sergey Goncharov reviews which sovereigns and corporates are issuing EM debt and takes the pulse of the current environment that they’re operating in.

Many overlook ESG criteria in the Emerging Markets sector, but this is missing a key opportunity it can offer: by reducing volatility, its application may make EM debt more attractive to those interested in the space but avoid it nonetheless due to political and other risks.

Welcome to this year’s first edition of mtx perspectives, which will highlight interesting developments across the world of global emerging markets. We start with a look at the digital revolution in Latin America.

The regulatory environment for ESG has been shifting, and this means new rules of the road regarding labelling and reporting. What can we expect to see in 2024 and in the near-term?

With most central banks presumably at highs in terms of monetary policy rates during the current cycle, the focus has rightly shifted to the timing of the first cut. 

2023 proved to be a second year where European ABS gave investors the strongest returns in fixed income with the benefit of very low volatility. As risk-free rates grew to what we expect to be the peak, income was maximised whilst the various market pivots on rates came and went in the rear view mirror.

We believe that in the wake of current energy security concerns, the energy transition has gathered impressive momentum and is now at an inflection point. What does this mean for investors?