Investment Insights

The last three years have seen considerable market volatility caused by factors including the Covid pandemic, government subsidies, supply chain pressures, and runaway inflation. After all this, fixed income investors might be forgiven for feeling particularly challenged about how to square the latest trends and translate them into asset allocation. Listen to this Talking Heads podcast about absolute return fixed income investing with Portfolio Manager Abhijit Korde and Daniel Morris, Chief Market Strategist. Abhijit discusses three scenarios for the US economy – a Goldilocks-like soft landing benefiting riskier investments such as corporate bonds; stickier-than expected inflation resulting in a rangebound selloff in risky assets; and a (low probability) recession favouring interest rate assets.

The outlook for traditional 60-40 portfolios has improved now that bonds have reasserted their value as an investment asset following a loss of appeal amid years of ultra-low interest rates.Listen to this Talking Heads podcast with Sergey Pergamentsev, Head of Structured Management, as he discusses longer-term multi-asset investing with Daniel Morris, Chief Market Strategist.For more insights, visit Viewpoint: https://viewpoint.bnpparibas-am.com/Download the Viewpoint app: https://onelink.to/tpxq34Follow us on LinkedIn: https://bnpp.lk/am

We published the first iteration of our Global Sustainability Strategy (GSS) in 2019. It laid the foundations for the implementation of sustainability across our organisation. In this podcast, Jane Ambachtsheer, Global Head of Sustainability, presents our Global Sustainablity Strategy 2023-2025. She discusses with Andrew Craig, Co-head of the Investment Insights Centre,  how recent developments in sustainability-related investing are reflected in the evolution of our strategy.For more insights, visit Viewpoint: https://viewpoint.bnpparibas-am.com/Download the Viewpoint app: https://onelink.to/tpxq34Follow us on LinkedIn: https://bnpp.lk/am   

The start of 2024 sees an economic environment where growth in developed economies is slowing as restrictive monetary policy makes itself felt. Tonko Gast, founder and CEO of Dynamic Credit Group and Portfolio Manager, discusses the asset class with Co-Head of the Investment Insights Centre Daniel Morris in this Talking Heads podcast.

There is value left in eurozone investment-grade corporate bonds even after a solid 2023. Scope for looser monetary policy from the European Central Bank will likely be one of the key drivers, potentially paving the way to returns of 6-6.5% in 2024, argues Victoria Whitehead, Head of Investment-Grade Credit, on this Talking Heads podcast with Daniel Morris, Chief Market Strategist. Continued inflows reflecting a search for yield among investors aligned with the prospect of companies issuing fewer bonds due to fewer merger and acquisition deals bode well for the segment in 2024. Many blue-chip large-cap companies look set to enter a period of weaker growth with strong balance sheets. This should enable them thus be able to navigate the slowdown, Victoria concludes.

Amid growing hopes  that the US economy will land softly in 2024, financial markets are pricing looser monetary sooner than expected. John Bradley, Head of Foreign Exchange, and Daniel Morris, Chief Market Strategist, discuss the prospects for the main developed market currencies in this environment. On this Talking Heads podcast, John highlights the likelihood of the US dollar weakening, especially  against the Japanese yen, as markets anticipate changes in interest rate differentials. He notes that there could be a race between the US Federal Reserve and the ECB as inflation falls back to the central bank's target faster in the eurozone than in the US, clearing the way for eurozone rate cuts first. 

In this episode of our Talking Heads podcast, Andrew Craig, Co-head of the Investment Insight Centre, and Daniel Morris, Chief Market Strategist, discuss our 2024 Investment Outlook “Stepping into a new reality.”  The outlook covers the shift in the macroeconomic setting that investors can look forward to and what this means for asset allocation.   For more insights, visit Viewpoint: https://viewpoint.bnpparibas-am.com/ Download the Viewpoint app: https://onelink.to/tpxq34 Follow us on LinkedIn: https://bnpp.lk/am   

As elsewhere, in Asia the environmental challenges created by climate change is driving a search for new ways of living and doing business. Listen to this Talking Heads podcast with Oscar Yang, Senior Portfolio Manager at Impax Asset Management, and Daniel Morris, Chief Market Strategist.   For more insights, visit Viewpoint: https://viewpoint.bnpparibas-am.com/ Download the Viewpoint app: https://onelink.to/tpxq34 Follow us on LinkedIn: https://bnpp.lk/am   

In the context of market volatility driven by high inflation, rising interest rates and (geo)political uncertainty, infrastructure debt has shown itself to be resilient.   On this Talking Heads podcast, Andrew Craig, Co-head of the Investment Insights Centre, talks to Stephanie Passet and Vincent Guillaume, Deputy Heads for Infrastructure Debt.    For more insights, visit Viewpoint: https://viewpoint.bnpparibas-am.com/ Download the Viewpoint app: https://onelink.to/tpxq34 Follow us on LinkedIn: https://bnpp.lk/am   

How can investors invest in listed equities benefiting from the transition to a more sustainable economy? On this Talking Heads podcast, Andy Craig, Co-head of the Investment Insight Centre, talks to Hubert Aarts, Deputy Chief Investment Officer for listed equities and Senior Portfolio Manager at Impax Asset Management, about the outlook and the opportunities in areas from renewable energy, environmentally friendly buildings and green transportation to sustainable housing and offices.    For more insights, visit Viewpoint: https://viewpoint.bnpparibas-am.com/ Download the Viewpoint app: https://onelink.to/tpxq34 Follow us on LinkedIn: https://bnpp.lk/am   

Among Asian emerging market (EM) equities, many investors have focused this year on what they see as an usually lacklustre Chinese economy – traditionally an EM growth engine. The reality, however, is that Beijing’s efforts to re-engineer the economy have led to a situation where support for the economy appears centred more on tackling possible systemic issues than developing new growth engines.   

Resilient domestic demand and record-high profit margins at cash-rich companies have helped shield the eurozone economy from much of the effect of higher interest rates. However, the full impact is likely to be felt in 2024. A slowdown could lead to a larger-than-expected deceleration in price pressures, potentially setting up the European Central Bank for rate cuts in the second half of 2024. 

The end of two decades of deflation and wage growth have improved the prospects of the Japanese economy and with it the outlook for Japanese equities.  Listen to this Talking Heads podcast with Sean Park, Investment Specialist, and Junki Okamoto, Deputy Portfolio Manager. For more insights, visit Viewpoint: https://viewpoint.bnpparibas-am.com/ Download the Viewpoint app: https://onelink.to/tpxq34 Follow us on LinkedIn: https://bnpp.lk/am  

With market expectations for a US recession being ‘kicked down the road’, the outlook for US small capitalisation stocks has improved.  Listen to this Talking Heads podcast with Vincent Nichols, Investment Specialist US Small Caps, and Daniel Morris, Chief Market Strategist.   For more insights, visit Viewpoint: https://viewpoint.bnpparibas-am.com/ Download the Viewpoint app: https://onelink.to/tpxq34 Follow us on LinkedIn: https://bnpp.lk/am   

For investors looking for alternative investments and new sources of income, investing in managed timber and woodland can be an attractive source of stable yields.  Listen to our podcast with Otto Reventlow, CEO, and Asger Strange Olesen, Director ESG Climate and Biodiversity, at BNPP AM majority-owned International Woodland Company.   For more insights, visit Viewpoint: https://viewpoint.bnpparibas-am.com/ Download the Viewpoint app: https://onelink.to/tpxq34 Follow us on LinkedIn: https://bnpp.lk/am   

Two factors are driving growing interest in fixed income exchange-traded funds. First, bonds are back with yields at attractive levels relative to the era of low interest rates. Investors can lock in higher yields using a low-cost instrument such as an ETF, as Lorraine Sereyjol-Garros, Head of ETF Sales, explains to Chief Market Strategist Daniel Morris.  For more insights, visit Viewpoint: https://viewpoint.bnpparibas-am.com/ Download the Viewpoint app: https://onelink.to/tpxq34 Follow us on LinkedIn: https://bnpp.lk/am   

Money market funds have been in favour as central banks tightened monetary policy. Investment Specialist Thibault Malin talks to Daniel Morris, Chief Market Strategist, about the bright outlook for money markets in this Talking Heads podcast.     For more insights, visit Viewpoint: https://viewpoint.bnpparibas-am.com/ Download the Viewpoint app: https://onelink.to/tpxq34 Follow us on LinkedIn: https://bnpp.lk/am   

Investors can help to speed climate mitigation and adaptation measures by allocating more and more actively to the protection of ecosystems and natural carbon sinks as well as other pro-climate fields, Thibaud Clisson, Climate Change Lead, tells Chief Market Strategist Daniel Morris in the wake of the latest Climate Week NYC and ahead of December’s UN COP28 meeting.   For more insights, visit Viewpoint: https://viewpoint.bnpparibas-am.com/ Download the Viewpoint app: https://onelink.to/tpxq34 Follow us on LinkedIn: https://bnpp.lk/am     

What is the best way to actively manage an allocation to large-cap European equities?  Listen to this Talking Heads podcast as Valerie Charriere details a broad-ranging assessment of the fundamentals that matter to her team, such as the structure of the industry a company operates in and competitive advantages in terms of, for example, scale or technology.    For more insights, visit Viewpoint: https://viewpoint.bnpparibas-am.com/ Download the Viewpoint app: https://onelink.to/tpxq34 Follow us on LinkedIn: https://bnpp.lk/am   

At around 15%, financial stocks account for a significant part of European equity indices. What is the outlook for the sector now that interest rates have normalised? Jeroen Knol, portfolio manager for European Equities and a European Financials specialist, discusses perspectives with Chief Market Strategist Daniel Morris in this Talking Heads podcast.  For more insights, visit Viewpoint: https://viewpoint.bnpparibas-am.com/ Download the Viewpoint app: https://onelink.to/tpxq34 Follow us on LinkedIn: https://bnpp.lk/am