Focus

Historically, Kings of Saudi Arabia don’t accede the throne until late in life. However the current ruler, King Salman Al-Saud has upset the established formula of “rule by elder” by giving unprecedented power to his son, Crown Prince Mohamad Bin Salman also referred to as “MbS”, who is just 30… Read More »

Some shocks will always come out of the blue and can only be absorbed first and responded to afterwards. These are what Nassim Taleb calls “Black Swans” Some events, though, can probably be better described as “Grey Swans”. These are vaguely visible on the horizon, but it is extremely hard… Read More »

UK voters will decide on June 23 whether or not Britain will remain part of the European Union – a unique economic and political partnership between 28 European countries. As a major contributor to the EU — and the EU’s status as the third-largest economy in the world – a… Read More »

Markets are climbing a wall of worry and the S&P 500 is close to its all-time high. We suspect it can go through that barrier but that better returns will be had on US high-yield and other stock markets A few days in Tel Aviv left me feeling naive in… Read More »

ESG factors can have a material impact on long-term investment outcomes. Focus on factors that should be considered in the selection of the companies and in the construction of a portfolio In a contest of low interest rates and high market volatility, it is important that investors not expose themselves… Read More »

US central bank’s rate-setting committee keeps interest rates unchanged, one dissenting voice After increasing key interest rates for the first time in nearly a decade in December 2015, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) kept the federal funds rate unchanged at its 16 March meeting. There was one dissenting voice… Read More »

Tight yields on corporate bonds, negative interest rates policies, clustering volatility and correlation on equity markets and omnipotent Central Banks created an extremely challenging environment for returns generation. In this context, private debt can offer an attractive alternative for patient investors. Why private debt is set for a comeback and… Read More »

Investors are currently pondering three questions: Is the current market assessment correct? Can the market create its own reality? Or are there buying opportunities? Has it come, the big reversal? Let me counter with another question: Would you be taken by surprise if several sunny days were followed by a… Read More »

The ECB last week, in several statements, took the opportunity to clarify bank capital requirements. We think this was a conscious effort to provide a higher degree of certainty to the market, post the aggressive bank sell-off earlier this year. The Director-general at ECB micro-prudential supervision, Mr. Korbinian Ibel, stated… Read More »

The severity of the current market correction (16% on the Euro Stoxx since the beginning of the year) took many investors by surprise In this volatile context, we are trying to understand the markets’ fears and gauge whether or not they are founded 1. WILL CHINESE GROWTH COLLAPSE IN 2016?The… Read More »