Financial services firms have planned to move an estimated GBP1.3 trillion in assets from the UK into the EU since the Brexit referendum, according to the latest estimates from EY’s Financial Services Brexit Tracker.
Fixed income funds enjoyed a good year in 2020, with strong investment flows from investors seeking safety in central bank-supported bonds, as the pandemic ripped apart stock markets.
A group of institutional investors worth USD13 trillion, including Aviva Investors, AXA Investment Managers, and Fidelity International, has pledged to support fair and equal global access to vaccines and healthcare in the fight against coronavirus.
Global dividends fell by 12 per cent in 2020 to USD1.3 trillion in the full year of 2020, after cuts and cancellations reached USD220 billion between April and December.
Asset managers are preparing for a rebound in UK equities, as an easing of coronavirus restrictions is expected to follow a swift roll-out of vaccinations.
A GBP3.2 trillion investor coalition against modern slavery, including Aberdeen Standard Investments, Church of England Pensions Board, Legal & General and Rathbones, has put pressure on 22 laggard companies on the FTSE 350 to comply with the UK’s modern slavery laws.
Asset managers’ understanding of companies’ ESG practices could be improved by using new technologies such as artificial intelligence, tokenisation, and ledger technology, according to a report from consultancy Capco.
Consulting firms in the institutional investment industry, including Aon, SEI, and Verus, have formed an action group to target gender and ethnic diversity within investment teams.
The world’s largest asset manager, BlackRock, has predicted that the “revolution” in monetary and fiscal policy spurred by the Covid-19 pandemic will dampen government bond real yields in 2021. The asset manager favours inflation-linked bonds, as well as risk assets such as equities and high-yield credit.
Business disruption, cybersecurity challenges and greater compliance burdens have long been acknowledged as being among the foremost operational challenges facing the hedge fund, private equity and investment management industries.
Known for its volatility, lack of transparency and still-evolving regulatory environment, China’s onshore equity market can be scary for even the most stoic institutional investor.
The GBP47 billion money market fund sector in the UK is “at risk” from negative interest rates, according to AXA Investment Managers’ Nicolas Trindade.
