By Roger Aitken – With 18 months having elapsed since the implementation of the European Union’s (EU) Markets In Financial Instruments II (MiFID II) Directive, ushering in the era of unbundling for investment firms for buy- and sell-side institutions, the former chairman of the UK Individual Shareholder Society (ShareSoc) argues that many of the rules behind MiFID should be ditched or scrapped after the UK leaves the EU… »

By Gary Paulin (pictured), Global Head of Integrated Trading Solutions, Northern Trust Capital Markets – The asset management industry is facing unprecedented pressure from competition, fees, regulatory and compliance challenges, technology costs and shifting product demand. The resulting squeeze on margins is forcing many to lower operating costs and increase scale via consolidation and/or outsourcing.  »

After a nice run with Treasuries and Bunds this year, bond investors will be mainly looking for opportunities among high-quality corporate bonds, says Jan Wagner… »

This Market Insight report, produced by MSCI in partnership with Institutional Asset Manager, examines the rising appeal of factor investing among institutional investors and the role of this approach in shaping and impacting institutional portfolios »

By Jan Wagner – German wealth manager Metzler has instructed its portfolio managers to become certified in sustainable investing and is rolling out a new ESG toolkit as it fully embraces the strategy, says CIO Rainer Matthes (pictured). »

Morgan Stanley’s Global Sustain shows that even with a wide array of exclusions, an ESG fund can generate decent returns. Jan Wagner asks Global Sustain’s manager Bruno Paulson (pictured) how he achieved this and how the sustainable investment process at Morgan Stanley Investment Management works… »

By Northern Trust – After a November 2018 roundtable on the proxy process, the SEC has begun issuing guidance around the use of proxy advisors.  This promises to be the beginning of the SEC’s scrutiny into proxy voting, not the end. »