All articles |

All
Market Insights
House Views
ESG
Wealth Planning
Invest differently
Beyond markets
Thematic investing

14 February 2025

Investing with purpose: How defining your values can help with financial success

Beyond markets

Have you ever asked yourself why you invest? Find out how defining your values could help with financial success.

16 May 2023

Quintet 3-year-thematic: Why zooming out is also important

Thematic investing

Our thematic investing approach involves gaining exposure to companies and themes that benefit from major global trends over the long term.

10 May 2023

Discover Luana’s experience as a graduate

Beyond markets

A Graduate Program may be your solution if you are unsure what job you want to pursue.

08 May 2023

Interest rate peak in sight

Market Insights

The US is slowing, China/Asia is rebounding, and Europe is caught up between the two. We expect global growth and inflation to slow gradually, bringing the end of developed market central banks’ rate rises in sight.

17 April 2023

Instagram vs Reality: Your practical guide to investing

Beyond markets

I recently overheard two people bragging about their biggest winners, the ‘hottest’ stocks in their portfolios. It is astonishing the amount of people that have that one friend who bought Apple shares before Steve Jobs returned or made 100x money on [insert any trending name].

03 April 2023

Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) integration

ESG

When you invest with Quintet flagship funds, not only do you capture a multi-asset diversified portfolio, but you also encapsulate environmental and social characteristics through positive & negative ESG data driven screening.

27 March 2023

Go west for bonds & east for stocks

Market Insights

The first quarter of 2023 saw a reassessment of global economic conditions by investors and policymakers. Asynchronous cycles are now beginning to emerge as China continues to re-open while the West battles with inflation and market volatility.

20 March 2023

ESG and performance

ESG

ESG characteristics are at the core of our investment philosophy. We believe that understanding material environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors improves the investment decision-making process and can lead to better returns.

06 March 2023

Investing like a girl: What you can learn from female investors

Beyond markets

How do you feel when someone asks you to do something like a girl? Offended? Humiliated? How is it that “like a girl” has an underlying meaning of weaker, lower quality and generally inferior than what a man would do?

24 February 2023

Timing the market vs time in the market

Market Insights

“When it comes to so-called market timing there are only two sorts of people: those who can’t do it, and those who know they can’t do it”, British investor Terry Smith famously said. Rather than timing the market, a better strategy is time in the market.

06 February 2023

Bonds are back

Market Insights

Following one of the worst years in recent memory for fixed income markets, high-quality government bonds are rebounding and now offer decent returns for relatively low levels of risk.

01 November 2022

Sustainable solutions

ESG

From food to financial investments, a small-scale sustainable approach can have a big impact. We talk to Grantley Hall’s Michelin-star chef Shaun Rankin, Phil Harris, executive director at Brown Shipley and AJ Singh, executive director at Quintet who is part of their sustainable investment team, to find out more.

24 October 2022

The USD hedge with an edge

Market Insights

Any self-respecting investment strategist derives a fair amount of titles for research reports from Western films. If it’s scenario analysis, then The Good, the Bad and the Ugly does a good job. If it’s fiscal and political uncertainty we’re talking about, as we’ve seen in the UK recently (leading to Liz Truss’s resignation and the shortest government in the country’s history), perhaps The Wild Bunch. And, of course, A Fistful of Dollars refers to currencies.

26 September 2022

Market thinking, fast and slow

Market Insights

Markets are full of sayings that somehow have to do with water: “one tide lifts all boats” when liquidity comes in; or, vice versa, “when the tide goes out, you find out who’s swimming naked”. Or they have to do with animals: are you a “bull” or a “bear”? Investors ask hurriedly.

22 August 2022

Success and excess

Market Insights

The success of monetary and fiscal stimulus in cushioning the pandemic blow is well known. But the resulting demand surge, pressing against constrained supply, has also produced an excess of inflation and rising interest rates – a drag on equities.

25 July 2022

The R word

Market Insights

“Why do economists use decimal points in their forecasts? To show that they have a sense of humour” is a joke that resurfaces in the marketplace every time volatility picks up. There’s some truth in this. Things rarely move consistently in one direction. So incrementally tracking how they’re unfolding is useful.

27 June 2022

Micro meets macro

Thematic investing

Our Counterpoint mid-year outlook, published a few days ago, goes from micro to macro and thematic. It talks about how geopolitical and supply shocks in the age of disruption are impacting companies, sectors, inflation and economic policy, our energy supply and technologies, creating risks and opportunities along the way.

30 May 2022

Investing thematically in a market transition

Thematic investing

As global financial markets work through a period of elevated volatility and increased risks, we prefer investment themes with robust structural growth characteristics but also stronger fundamentals, such as those with resilient earnings and some defensive qualities.

23 May 2022

Peaks and valleys

Market Insights

“Economists will know tomorrow why the things they predicted yesterday didn’t happen” is a joke that, in this fast-moving market cycle, has a deeper lesson. Rather than sticking to an all-knowing prediction, it’s more fruitful to use a transparent cause-effect framework to recalibrate the base case as events unfold.

16 May 2022

Positive earnings surprises but softer guidance

Market Insights

Sales and earnings growth for Q1 2022 in both the US and Europe exceeded expectations, led by strong energy sector results. The percentage of companies beating forecasts is above the long-term trend, but the margin of surprise is lower than recent quarters.

25 April 2022

Reading the signs (and the curves)

Market Insights

In the mid-1990s, British Prime Minister John Major reportedly asked Russian President Boris Yeltsin to describe the Russian economy in one word. He replied “good”. Surprised by this assessment, Major asked Yeltsin if he could describe it in two words.

18 April 2022

Looking east: investing in Asia high yield

Market Insights

Following a poor start to 2022, Asia high yield (HY) bonds have staged a notable recovery since mid-March. We have been holding a tactical overweight position against USD investment grade (IG) bonds. What are the main features of the Asia HY market and our outlook for the asset class?

11 April 2022

The yield curve and recession: truth and myth

Market Insights

Some segments of the Treasury curve are now inverted. While investors see this as a warning signal, the reality is more nuanced. We explore what it means for the probability of US recession, and for equity and other asset class returns.

04 April 2022

Ukraine War: themes to de-risk economies

Market Insights

We believe the war in Ukraine – which is first and foremost a humanitarian tragedy – will spur some countries and businesses to reduce long-term risks that have emerged from that conflict.

28 March 2022

French elections: geopolitics all around

Market Insights

On 10 and 24 April, France will elect its new president at a crucial time – a war raging on the fringes of Europe. Emmanuel Macron looks set to be re-elected for a second term. We explore the key implications for the economy and markets.

21 March 2022

The economic consequences of war

Market Insights

In The Economic Consequences of the Peace, published in 1919, John Maynard Keynes predicted that stiff war reparations would lead Germany to financial instability, with economic and political repercussions across Europe and the whole world.

07 March 2022

Off the lows

Market Insights

While geopolitical uncertainty could keep them low for longer, bond yields are on the rise as central banks normalise policy. We expect them to move higher but, over the medium term, see lower rates than in past cycles.

28 February 2022

Russian dolls

Market Insights

It’s tempting to attribute the ongoing risk-off move to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. That’s part of the story but, like Russian dolls, there’s a scenario inside a bigger one, which is inside an even bigger scenario, and so on.

28 February 2022

Recycled gold

ESG

Invest differently

Gold can be recycled with no degradation in quality. It can contribute to a circular economy and is an attractive proposition for sustainable investors.

24 February 2022

How we’re thinking about Russia/Ukraine and our investment strategy

Market Insights

14 February 2022

Solid Q4 results with signs of divergence

Market Insights

As the post-pandemic recovery matures, corporate earnings are surprising by less but still exceeding forecasts. We are seeing a divergence in performance within sectors, but must be careful not to extrapolate short-term trends.

07 February 2022

Innovation nation

Thematic investing

We see innovation continuing apace and even accelerating, despite high costs currently. We believe top innovators are likely to be long-term winners. We see the current weakness in ‘innovation equities’ as a buying opportunity.

31 January 2022

Rearview mirror

Market Insights

At the beginning of the new year, we look back at the performance of our Quintet Group Strategic Asset Allocations (SAA). In this second edition of our biannual review we explore how our SAAs fared amid buoyant risk markets and macro volatility.

24 January 2022

The name is bond

Market Insights

Once again, the rise in core bond yields is driving markets across geographies, asset classes, sectors and styles, with a sharp equity rotation away from growth and into value stocks. In the James Bond movie series, 007 eventually overcomes an improbable sequence of obstacles and makes it through.

17 January 2022

Moving past the peak

Market Insights

While economic growth and stimulus should become less positive this year, inflation and the virus impact should become less negative too. We’re tactically overweight US equities and a range of credit exposures.

03 January 2022

Big macro vs little macro

Market Insights

Economist and best-selling author JK Galbraith once quipped that there are two kinds of forecasters: those who don’t know and those who don’t know they don’t know. Turns out, it may be worse.

29 November 2021

Thematic investing: fast forward to the future

Thematic investing

The world is changing rapidly, driven by technological and environmental factors, and these shifts could have profound long-term implications for investors. Our thematic framework can help navigate the evolving investment landscape.

22 November 2021

Cheques and imbalances

Market Insights

Paraphrasing an old adage, a forecaster is a portfolio manager who never marks to market. There’s some truth in this. There’s a disincentive in rapidly shifting views back and forth – which is equal to not having a view.

15 November 2021

Solid Q3 results despite the challenges

Market Insights

In the third quarter of 2021, inflation rose in most countries and the global economy faced ongoing supply chain issues. Despite concerns about how these challenges would impact earnings, the results are better than expected and forecasts have been revised higher across most sectors.

08 November 2021

What a difference a year makes

Market Insights

In this latest note focusing on our strategic asset allocation (SAA), we explore our updated risk and return expectations for the next 10 years. What has driven the change in our capital market assumptions (CMAs) and how do they affect investment portfolios?

01 November 2021

Are equities too expensive?

Market Insights

We’re often asked this question when discussing our current tactical overweight in equities over bonds, and understandably so. Many measures of equity valuations are high compared with history. But that doesn’t mean global stock markets can’t continue to rise.

25 October 2021

Going to the movies

Market Insights

Markets are grappling with two new(ish) facts. First, energy prices are surging. Second, central banks are diverging. Have investors seen this movie before?

18 October 2021

To exclude or engage

ESG

There are several ways to align portfolios with sustainable considerations. Sometimes deciding not to invest is the optimal choice. However, investing can often provide an opportunity to encourage positive change.

11 October 2021

The state of European credit markets

Market Insights

Bond yields are rising following a more hawkish tone from central banks around the world. Monetary policy is becoming less accommodative but we don’t believe it’s the end of the game for credit in Europe.

04 October 2021

Build back better: infrastructure goes global

Market Insights

Spending on infrastructure looks set to rise, mostly in the US but also in Europe. This is a structural trend to rebuild the economy in a sustainable way, with a focus on green and digital investment.

27 September 2021

Asian high yield: well-compensated risks

Market Insights

Asian high yield (HY) bonds have experienced a period of elevated volatility and rising spreads since June. The correction has accelerated in recent weeks, with the rapid deterioration of property developer Evergrande’s liquidity situation a major catalyst. We revisit the investment case for Asian HY bonds and confirm our conviction in the asset class over our tactical horizon of 6–12 months, despite near-term risks.

20 September 2021

Back to school

Market Insights

September is all about getting back to normal life now that the holidays are over. This sense of normalisation – if one could really call it that in the Covid world – is happening in the wider economy too.

13 September 2021

Germany’s election: life after Merkel

Market Insights

On 26 September, Germany will elect a new Bundestag. The outcome will set the stage for the next coalition, headed by a new chancellor, with Angela Merkel set to step down after 16 years. The next government is likely to have a greener tilt.

06 September 2021

Fed tapering explained

Market Insights

The upcoming reduction in net asset purchases is likely to put upward pressure on Treasury yields, but only moderately as rate hikes aren’t yet in sight. Credit and equity markets should be able to cope.

30 August 2021

Our strategic asset allocation process in focus

Market Insights

In this latest note exploring our approach to strategic asset allocation (SAA), we answer some common questions. How do we arrive at our return expectations? How to deal with lower future returns when building globally diversified portfolios? What is the role of geopolitics and sustainability in our investment process?

16 August 2021

A sustainable approach to fund selection

ESG

Before we approve a sustainable fund for investors, we assess its investment process against a range of factors to make sure it meets our high standards.

09 August 2021

Another strong set of earnings results

Market Insights

The second-quarter earnings season has been better than expected. As the global economy recovers from the pandemic, consensus profit forecasts have been too conservative again, and are being revised higher for the rest of this year and into 2022

26 July 2021

Delta Blues

Market Insights

The past 18 months have been an exercise in humility for most forecasters. Even now, the typical thinking about the spread of the Delta variant is to highlight (so far) limited effects while quickly flagging that things could turn out worse than expected. The problem with this approach is that it’s unidimensional: it delivers variants of the same scenario, with slightly different assumptions.

19 July 2021

Market crosscurrents

Market Insights

Another month, another upside surprise in inflation. Yet the drivers appear the same: a handful of categories – such as used cars – are driving the spike, given strong demand pressing against constrained supply.

19 July 2021

The twists and turns of the cycle

Market Insights

We introduce an indicator that captures economic and financial market dynamics in the US across different phases of the business cycle. This information is useful for making investment decisions.

12 July 2021

Strategy primer: sustainable dedicated assets

ESG

Quintet’s sustainable investing philosophy comprises a toolkit of approaches and dedicated assets. In this primer we deep dive into dedicated assets – arguably the sustainable investing strategy which can deliver the greatest real-world impact.

12 July 2021

Twin Peaks

Market Insights

Watching the Euro 2020 final this weekend reminded us of the expression “there’s no such a thing as a free lunch”. In markets, a few weeks ago the key worry was too high bond yields as rising inflation would lead to central bank tightening. Over time, this would weaken economic and earnings growth, negatively impacting equity prices.

05 July 2021

The power of words

Market Insights

Our Counterpoint 2021 mid-year update suggests that volatility could rise from here: there’s less policy ammunition left if things unexpectedly go wrong, such as new virus variants derailing the recovery; alternatively, stimulus withdrawal could prove difficult, potentially raising financial instability.

05 July 2021

With the benefit of hindsight

Market Insights

The fifth piece in a series exploring our approach to strategic asset allocation (SAA) looks back. In this inaugural edition of our biannual SAA performance review, we recap the first half of the year through the lens of our Quintet Group SAAs. How did they perform and what drove returns?

28 June 2021

Steeper for longer

Market Insights

As the cycle matures, rate hikes approach and the yield curve typically flattens. We’ve seen this market dynamic playing out quite clearly following the latest Fed meeting. The central bank’s ‘dot plot’ – a graphical representation of the committee members’ economic and rate expectations – showed two hikes in 2023 rather than zero as previously, triggering a sharper selloff in shorter-dated Treasuries and, therefore, flattening the curve.

21 June 2021

The inflation head fake

Market Insights

The key strategy for economists to get attention and avoid sounding ‘too consensus’ is to assign high probabilities to events without taking them as base case. Saying that something has a 30-40% probability of happening sounds high enough to make it an important risk to watch but, if it doesn’t happen, chances were always less than even to begin with. A better way is to frame a debate and look at the pros and cons of both sides’ arguments.

14 June 2021

Running on high pressure

Market Insights

As economies reopen, we’re likely to see two overlapping patterns – a ‘bungee jump’ driven by a focal point created by the resumption of activity as mobility picks up, and a more traditional ‘cycle’. The bungee jump is about the short-term displacement of activity as governments closed down entire economies by decree and deployed massive stimulus at the same time.

07 June 2021

Stay tuned!

Market Insights

The business of forecasting is a tricky one. This is because prediction and explanation are different things. Of course, this isn’t unique to the economy and financial markets: alchemists could predict that combining two elements would result in a third one, but couldn’t explain exactly why; geologists have great explanations for earthquakes, but can’t predict when the next one will happen.

31 May 2021

A sustainable approach to equity investing

ESG

Our equity investment process is built on a robust principles-based sustainable philosophy, combining our expertise with high-quality data. Sustainable investors are acknowledging that material ESG factors influence investment returns, as we explain here.

31 May 2021

Joining the party

Market Insights

An old saying about this or that economy trying to fix its structural problems is that it’s the opportunity of the future… and always will be. The opportunity never really materialises in full, or doesn’t last long enough. To strategists, sometimes the euro area feels like this.

24 May 2021

Goldbugs

Invest differently

Scores of economists cut their teeth on one of the many editions of Rudi Dornbusch’s textbook: Macroeconomics. While the title may seem perhaps a bit unimaginative – at least to some – the author’s quotes are the stuff of legend. One in particular resonates today: “in economics, things take longer to happen than you think they will, and then they happen faster than you thought they could”. Take gold.

17 May 2021

Ringing the inflation bell

Market Insights

A side-effect of prolonged lockdowns is that the entire Netflix catalogue gets nearly exhausted at some point. When that happens, classics come back in vogue – both films and economic topics. If The Postman Always Rings Twice, so does inflation: it makes the news both when it happens and then a year later, when it distorts comparisons that look back 12 months.

17 May 2021

The big long

Market Insights

The pandemic has turbocharged a range of pre-existing trends that are changing the way of doing things across many economies. While quantifying the macro impact is highly uncertain, these shifting paradigms are already visible at the sector level.

10 May 2021

Bidenomics

Market Insights

Economists’ failure to accurately predict the magnitude of big events like booms and recessions and – perhaps more often than they’d like to admit – the timing of these events with sufficient foresight, inevitably makes them the target of all sorts of jokes: for example, how can you tell that economists have a sense of humour? Because they put decimal points in their forecasts.

10 May 2021

Record surprises… again!

Market Insights

The first-quarter earnings season highlights once again that consensus expectations for corporate profits have been too conservative as the world recovers from the pandemic. Near-term expectations are being revised higher.

03 May 2021

Taxes, tapering, timing and thresholds

Market Insights

"Nothing is certain but death and taxes" is a rather fatalistic proverb drawing on the inevitability of the life cycle to make a parallel with the inevitability of the fiscal burden. However, just like with Fed tapering, the key thing with any tax policy change is timing and thresholds.

03 May 2021

Strategy primer: sustainable themes

ESG

Quintet’s sustainable investing philosophy comprises a toolkit of approaches and dedicated assets. In this primer we deep dive into the thematic approach – the fastest-growing sustainable investing strategy.

26 April 2021

Turning a corner

Market Insights

One of the perennial dilemmas of strategists is figuring out when good news becomes bad news in the eyes of the market, and vice versa. Say the jobs report comes in stronger than expected. This would be good news and the market would go up. More people working means more tax revenues, less spending on unemployment benefits and an increase in demand.

19 April 2021

Flying on two engines

Market Insights

The long-awaited inflation spike has come. Price cuts in the early months of the pandemic are now dropping out of the annual comparison. Surging commodity prices and temporary supply bottlenecks are doing the rest. But we don’t see the pace of wage growth and degree of tightness in the labour market that could result in a more long-lasting inflation spiral.

19 April 2021

Commodity matters

Market Insights

How should investors think about the price of gold following the pickup in real yields? What’s the outlook for oil versus metals such as copper now that economies are reopening?

12 April 2021

May two (usually) wrongs make a right?

Market Insights

Microeconomists are wrong about specific things – economist and comedian Yoram Bauman often says – whereas macroeconomists are wrong in general. Could it be different this time around? A critical look at both the micro and macro drivers of bond yields suggests that a large part of the move higher, at least in the short term, is likely to be behind us.

12 April 2021

Capital at risk

Market Insights

In the fourth piece in a series exploring our approach to strategic asset allocation (SAA), we look at what our capital market assumptions tell us about recovering losses when things don’t go as planned and why history is a useful but imperfect guide to the future.

05 April 2021

Strategy primer: ESG improvers

ESG

Quintet's incorporation of environmental and social characteristics comprises a toolkit of approaches and dedicated assets. In this primer we deep dive into the improvers approach – arguably the most innovative ESG investing strategy.

29 March 2021

A crash of rhinos

Market Insights

The capital sins of forecasting are flip-flopping (rapidly switching from one view to another, back and forth) and salami-slicing (frequently making incremental, insignificant changes). Dealing with uncertainty is a key part of forecasting. There are two types of risks. Black swans, such as Covid-19, are unknown unknowns, high-impact but very rare events that investors often underappreciate.

22 March 2021

The Greenback's bounceback

Market Insights

The caricature of the strategist always painting a year of two halves, one bullish and the other bearish or vice versa, is partly true. What’s behind it is the impulse to stay current with macro developments. Timing turning points isn’t easy, but keeping an eye on how things are changing is healthy. We got strong US growth upgrades and higher interest rates lately. This is why the US dollar has strengthened and may continue to do so for some time.

22 March 2021

The inflation question

Market Insights

Should investors worry about inflation? Is the upcoming spike temporary, a longlasting trend leading to central banks hiking rates or are bond yields ultimately overreacting?

15 March 2021

The devil is in the timing

Market Insights

Former US President Harry Truman once pleaded “give me a one-handed economist”, having tired of his advisers proclaiming “on the one hand, this” but “on the other hand, that”. The investor debate on whether rising bond yields and, potentially, higher inflation (however transitory) are signs of recovery and reflation or, rather, a market setback as central banks may tighten policy, feels a bit like this.

08 March 2021

Optimal portfolios in a low yield world

Market Insights

The third piece in a series exploring our approach to strategic asset allocation takes a closer look at our expected evolution for eurozone government bond yields and the role they play in optimising the risk and return balance in well- diversified portfolios.

08 March 2021

Liquid markets

Market Insights

Martial artist and movie star Bruce Lee famously summarised his philosophy as “be water”. He meant that adaptability is a key skill (“be formless, shapeless, like water”) and that the same thing can have different effects depending on how sudden, fast the movement is (“water can flow or it can crash”). The rise in bond yields is just like this.

01 March 2021

Emerging issues

Market Insights

Our scorecards for emerging markets highlight where fundamentals are resilient and where they’re not. These measures are especially important if bond yields overshoot their forecasts.

01 March 2021

It takes two to tango

Market Insights

Back in the 1990s, investors worried about a potential spike in bond yields if Bill Clinton pushed through with his plan of economic stimulus. James Carville, his adviser, joked that, rather than as the next US president or a baseball player, he wanted to be reincarnated as the bond market, because “you can intimidate everybody”.

22 February 2021

It's all SPAC-tacular

Market Insights

15 February 2021

It's not rocket science

Market Insights

The case for cyclical improvement, by now, is widely shared in the marketplace. But, in one respect, our outlook is more optimistic: we see a compelling case for structural improvement over the longer horizon too. For much of the past couple of decades the impact of innovation has underwhelmed many forecasters.

15 February 2021

Earnings season: beating expectations again

Market Insights

The fourth-quarter earnings season highlighted once again that consensus expectations for corporate profits have been too conservative as the world adapts to and slowly emerges from the pandemic.

08 February 2021

European bank debt: where are the opportunities?

Market Insights

There are potentially attractive yields on offer for fixed income investors in selected parts of the European financial bond market.

08 February 2021

The numbers game

Market Insights

There’s an old riddle about a lily pad in a pond: the lily pad doubles in size every day and after 30 days it completely covers the pond; on what day does the lily pad cover half the pond? If you answered without really thinking about it, you probably answered “day 15”. Our mind tends to think linearly: if the lily pad covers the entire pond in 30 days than it must cover half of it in 15 days.

01 February 2021

Strategy primer: sustainable leaders

ESG

Quintet’s sustainable investing philosophy comprises a toolkit of approaches and dedicated assets. In this primer we deep dive into the leader approach – the most popular sustainable investing strategy.

01 February 2021

Inflation superheroes

Market Insights

The ripple effects of the GameStop saga and the short squeeze on hedge funds show how interconnected markets are. If they’re like webs of investors, central banks are the spiders at their centres. By declaring that they’ll allow inflation overshoots to make up for past misses, central banks are trying to push inflation expectations significantly higher. We see two risks.

25 January 2021

Big government

Market Insights

Governments that want their debt burdens to diminish must follow one of three broadly defined paths. First, they can try to pay back the loans. Second, they can decide not to pay, or agree with creditors to pay less than they owe. Third, they can wait it out, rolling over their debts while hoping that they shrink relative to the economy over time.

18 January 2021

The point of bitcoin

Invest differently

How should investors think about cryptocurrencies in general and bitcoin in particular? Are they an alternative form of money, an asset such as a commodity, an emerging technology or perhaps a speculative bubble?

18 January 2021

The eternal zero

Market Insights

The most famous quote from The Leopard by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa is, of course, “everything needs to change, so everything can stay the same”. The novel chronicles the changes in Sicilian society during the Risorgimento. While the context is very different, our Counterpoint 2021 tells a story of change and continuity too.

11 January 2021

Spring is coming

Market Insights

Why do we have economic forecasts? To make weather forecasts look good. The joke is an old one. But, with normal life thrown off course by Covid-19, investors might be forgiven for taking economists’ advice with a pinch of salt and scrutinising the latest rain alerts instead. With lockdowns still in place, moving around, gathering together and many other activities remain constrained.

07 January 2021

The early-cycle playbook

Market Insights

There are two types of forecasters: those who don’t know and those who don’t know they don’t know. Making predictions about how tomorrow may differ from today is obviously tricky. The thing is that there are so many cross-currents that, when one has it all figured it out, something else happens.

07 January 2021

Getting non-physical

Market Insights

Investing is all about the gap between an asset’s fluctuating price and its intrinsic value. Most investors describe themselves as value investors, even when their stockpicking isn’t mainly based on accounting metrics such as book value or earnings. Of course, no one wants to overpay for stocks. The rising importance of intangible assets, as opposed to physical ones, is changing company valuation.

07 January 2021

Brexit | Last-minute deal

Market Insights

The UK government and the European Commission have managed to agree on a trade deal, which will now go through various channels of approval. This deal still implies border disruption and higher import costs, at least for a while, limited regulatory alignment and no provision for services. By avoiding UK-EU tariffs – which would have happened in a no-deal outcome – this deal also means that any economic hit should be moderate.

14 December 2020

Good as gold

ESG

Invest differently

Gold prices soared during the worst days of the health crisis, but have fallen back recently. What are the factors that could push the price in either direction?

13 December 2020

Expanding the fixed income universe

Market Insights

This second piece in a series exploring our approach to strategic asset allocation takes a closer look at the fixed income holdings in portfolios and the important role of credit.

30 November 2020

Credit where credit is due

Market Insights

Large-scale policy support and prospects of a vaccine breakthrough suggest default rates will peak at lower levels.

16 November 2020

Climate neutral investing: reduce, transform and remove

ESG

We take the timely opportunity to outline a simple, yet effective, lifestyle and investment framework in pursuit of climate neutrality.

09 November 2020

US elections: the aftermath

Market Insights

This is the fifth in a series of pieces looking at the US elections. Here we take stock of the outcome and explore what to expect.

02 November 2020

Our approach to strategic asset allocation

Market Insights

This piece is the first in a series exploring how we construct globally diversified portfolios to deliver long-term returns that are in line with individual risk appetites and return objectives.

20 October 2020

US elections: where are we and what's next?

Market Insights

Two weeks to go: we explore voter intentions and expectations, how markets tend to perform after US elections, and potential impact of each candidate’s policies on the economy.

12 October 2020

Invest in a changing world

ESG

Thematic investing can be a powerful approach, and we’ve defined a framework of five measures to help identify the most attractive opportunities.

05 October 2020

Brexit: The journey and the destination

Market Insights

The UK’s exit from the European Union (EU) is happening in the context of Covid-19 and massive policy stimulus. We explore what it means for markets over the immediate horizon and further out.

21 September 2020

US elections: the implications for equities

Market Insights

The outcome of November’s US elections could be a key moment for equity markets in the short term. We explore what might happen.

14 September 2020

Addressing the wall of worries

Market Insights

Our core views on the key themes driving financial markets are on track. We remain overweight risk in our tactical asset allocation and continue to see attractive investment opportunities.

07 September 2020

All that glitters

Market Insights

Even though it’s unlikely to be a straight line from here, we expect the US dollar to weaken further over the medium term and gold prices to stay well supported.

26 August 2020

US elections: the implications for sustainability

ESG

The outcome of the US vote on November 3rd is likely to have a profound impact across environmental, social and governance issues. We explore what it all means for investors.

18 August 2020

Catching fallen angels

Market Insights

High yield bonds have been resilient throughout the market turmoil caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

10 August 2020

Second quarter earnings

Market Insights

The second quarter reporting season is once again showing marked differences between a much stronger-than-expected US earnings season and that of European companies.

03 August 2020

Navigating the recovery

Market Insights

Investors need to distinguish businesses that are likely to perform well as the world recovers from the virus from those that will struggle.

20 July 2020

US elections: Framing the market debate

Market Insights

This is first of a series of pieces looking at the US elections on 3 November and their implications for the economy, financial markets and sectors.

13 July 2020

Till debt do us part

Market Insights

One of the key long-term legacies of the Covid-19 pandemic is very high debt levels across the world.

08 July 2020

The art of trade war

Market Insights

Rising US-China tensions are a downside risk to the macro and market outlook, but political and economic considerations point to a "cold" trade war prior to the US election.

07 July 2020

Is now the right time to invest in alternatives?

Invest differently

Introducing alternatives like hedge funds and private market investments into a portfolio can help to reduce risk and improve long-term results.

02 July 2020

Opinion: Cyclical stocks

Market Insights

Even as the list of corporate causalities of coronavirus gets longer by the day, the outlook for cyclical stocks is improving.

15 June 2020

Counterpoint Weekly 15 June 2020

Market Insights

Through their ownership, investors share responsibility for a company's policies and actions.

29 May 2020

A fistful of dollars

Market Insights

We expect the US dollar to weaken gradually from here, as we project the supply of USD to exceed demand.

27 May 2020

On the road to recovery - Counterpoint Monthly

Market Insights

The coronavirus pandemic has put financial markers under severe stress.

18 May 2020

CIO weekly - Week 18th May 2020

Market Insights

With countries across the world confirming that their economies have entered recesion, we examine the apparent dislocation between strong equity markers and the weak economic data.

11 May 2020

CIO Weekly - First Quarter Earnings

Market Insights

First-quarter earnings in the US and Europe were slightly better than the market expected. However, the percentage of companies beating expectations was the lowest since the global financial crisis.

30 April 2020

Central bank decision time

Market Insights

The Federal Reserve left its key policy rates unchanged, in line with expectations.

27 April 2020

Market Insight - From Despair to repair

Market Insights

That ongoing recession is turning out to be the steepest in living memory is not going to surprise anyone by now.

27 April 2020

Home country first

Market Insights

The press is reporting that US banks are increasingly pulling back from lending activity in Europe. This is fuelling concerns that US banks may quietly be withdrawing to their home market.

23 April 2020

CIO Monthly April 2020

Market Insights

Monthly report - Executive Summary - Asset Allocation - The Macro View

23 April 2020

First reaction to negative Oil prices

Market Insights

The unbelievable became reality. After negative interest rates, we saw a negative oil price for the first time in history.

22 April 2020

Eurobonds or Coronabonds?

Market Insights

On Thursday, EU leaders will have another video conference summit to discuss emergency coronavirus-fighting measures.

17 February 2025

Tariffs and inflation: not a linear relationship

US inflation in January was higher than expected at around 3% for both headline and core inflation (which strips out volatile components). This was mainly due to rising energy prices, along with price increases in used cars, motor insurance, medical care commodities, and airline fares.

10 February 2025

Trade tariffs and the AI race keep dominating the market narrative

Last week was dominated by investors digesting the implications of President Trump imposing a 25% tariff on imports from Mexico and Canada, and 10% on China, plus a 25% tariff on steel and aluminium. Canada and Mexico vowed retaliation but then negotiated some measures leading to the temporary suspension of the US tariffs.

03 February 2025

How we think about Trump’s trade tariffs

Over the weekend, US President Donald Trump kicked off a ‘trade war’ with its top three trading partners by raising tariffs to 25% on all imports from Mexico and Canada, and 10% on imports from China.

27 January 2025

Trump’s first week

Tech stocks, and the broader equity indices, fell sharply on Monday. Progress made by Chinese artificial intelligence start-up DeepSeek has raised concerns about US leadership in the sector.

20 January 2025

Trump 2.0, here we go

In this weekly market update, we’re continuing to answer some questions we’ve received following the release of our 2025 Market Outlook.

13 January 2025

Entering 2025 with conviction and diversification

First and foremost, we would like to wish you a happy, healthy and prosperous 2025. We’re using the first weekly market update of 2025 to answer some questions we’ve received following the release of our 2025 Market Outlook.

19 December 2024

Slower Fed rate cuts are unlikely to derail the market outlook: stay invested

The US Federal Reserve (Fed) delivered a ‘hawkish’ quarter-point interest rate cut to bring the key policy rate target range to 4.25-4.50%. While investors expected this move, what’s new is that the US central bank also signalled a slower pace of rate reductions: the policy statement was updated to include the consideration of the “extent and timing” of additional adjustments.

09 December 2024

How we think about geopolitics going into 2025

After around 14 years of civil war, the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria has caught the world by surprise. Initial market reactions have been muted. Oil prices have risen by around USD1/bbl, while other markets (global equities and currencies) haven’t budged, suggesting the unfolding of events in Syria is not causing any worries in financial markets.

25 November 2024

Markets remain well-behaved, with the US outperforming

We’re not yet into the festive season but markets were relatively quiet last week and could be again this week, as the economic calendar is relatively light. However, there were some geopolitical jitters. Tensions flared up between Russia and Ukraine, causing a reaction in the commodity market.

18 November 2024

Trump 2.0 – go big, and go home

Donald Trump, the 47th president-elect of the USA, has been given a strong mandate. He won both the electoral college and popular vote, while his Republican party secured a majority in both chambers of Congress.

11 November 2024

The US election aftermath

Although not yet fully certified, Trump has secured a clearer victory than initial polls indicated. The election resulted in a ‘Red sweep’, with a Republican majority in both chambers of Congress.

04 November 2024

US elections in focus

It’s still impossible to predict who’s going to be the 47th US President as Americans head to the polls on November 5th. However, since October, the odds of a Donald Trump win and Republicans winning both chambers of Congress have risen, with Kamal Harris narrowing the gap over the weekend.

28 October 2024

Political, fiscal and economic cross-currents

Last week was quiet, with no significant economic data releases, so markets continued to take cues from the US election polls. The US dollar rose and bonds declined. Surprisingly, stocks fell. It’s hard to attribute these dynamics to a single event. Trump had earlier taken a slight advantage in the polls in all swing states, though still within the margin of error, but his advance faded last week.

21 October 2024

Rate cuts and the ‘Trump trade’

Last week, the European Central Bank (ECB) cut interest rates by 25 basis points (bps) as inflation fell below the 2% target in September and growth remains sluggish. While not pre-committing to more cuts, ECB President Lagarde’s communication hinted that more could be on the way, given growth worries.

07 October 2024

How we’re positioning for volatility bouts

After three weeks of positive performance, the key equity indices ended flat to marginally higher in the US and fell in Europe last week for two reasons: First, escalating Middle East tensions sent the price of risky assets lower while pushing oil prices higher. Second, better-than-expected jobs and services data out of the US led markets to no longer expect a big rate cut in November.

02 October 2024

The Middle East and the markets (the sequel)

The escalation in the Middle East took a new turn yesterday as Iran fired a barrage of ballistic missiles at Israel in retaliation for the start of ground operations in Lebanon. At the time of writing, it’s too early to tell whether the conflict could broaden to the wider region and/or involve the US – where things are further complicated by the presidential election in November.

30 September 2024

Policymakers chase the clouds away

Last week, China unveiled a surprise package of stimulus measures to boost its economy and stock market. The People’s Bank of China (PBoC) cut interest rates, lowered banks’ reserve requirement ratios and relaxed mortgage policies.

16 September 2024

The time has come (to cut US rates)

The weekend saw another attempted shooting of Donald Trump. While any market implication remains unclear at the time of writing, along with whether and to what extent this might shift voter intentions, this could put the US election on 5 November on investors’ radars even more.

02 September 2024

Investor focus shifts from inflation to jobs

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been one the biggest market stories over the past couple of years. At the centre of it all is Nvidia, the California-based company that up until a few years ago was mostly known for its graphic cards used in the video game industry.

26 August 2024

Interest rate cutting cycle gathers momentum

With the weak US employment report for July still in mind, investors were anxiously awaiting Federal Reserve (Fed) Chair Powell’s speech at the Jackson Hole Economic Symposium last week. It was his first address to the public since the Fed meeting in late July. Since then, a lot has happened.

19 August 2024

Equity markets recover further

After a tough start to August, equity markets around the globe performed positively, celebrating better-than-expected data out of the US (see below). In the US, the tech-heavy NASDAQ Composite index, rose more than the S&P 500, after underperforming in recent weeks in the context of a mixed earnings season.

12 August 2024

Risk appetite recovers

In the absence of major economic releases last week, markets took a breather after a sharp fall on Monday, almost paring losses on Friday. The sell-off was due to a trifecta of dynamics triggered the previous week.

05 August 2024

How we navigate volatile markets

After another week with some volatile trading sessions, the S&P 500 equity index closed about 2% lower. US Treasuries rallied, with the 10-year yield falling to well below 4% (and, therefore, bond prices rising, as they move inversely to yields) as markets priced in more interest rate cuts by the US Federal Reserve (Fed). That made the US dollar decline against major, currencies, and the gold price move higher.

29 July 2024

Economic data and interest rate cuts are supportive, but Big Tech earnings fail to impress

Last week, investors were faced with both disappointing earnings news and encouraging macro data, resulting in a few volatile sessions for stock markets. Mid-week, the S&P 500 had its worst decline since 2022. However, thanks to favourable US economic growth and inflation data, markets were able to recoup part of the losses at the end of the week.

23 July 2024

A (not so surprising) twist in the US election

As suspected by the market for some time, Joe Biden has decided to pull out of the US presidential race, endorsing his Vice President, Kamala Harris. While Harris polls better than Biden, she still lags Donald Trump. Even though there don’t seem to be any obvious challengers within the party, the Democrats can still choose other candidates.

15 July 2024

A busy summer as the US election nears

Last week, US Treasury yields fell as US inflation came in lower than markets expected. Global bond yields and the US dollar also fell as markets firmed up their view that the US Federal Reserve (Fed) will cut interest rates in September and December.

01 July 2024

Markets between politics and fundamentals

As expected, the right-wing Rassemblement National (RN) won the first round of the French parliamentary election on 30 June. They came ahead of the left-wing alliance of the Nouveau Front Populaire (NFP), relegating president Macron’s centrist coalition to third place. However, the outcome of the second round on 7 July remains highly uncertain.

24 June 2024

Election Season Continues

On June 30 and July 7, the French public will vote to elect their members of Parliament. There are 577 seats up for grabs, so a party needs 289 seats to have an outright majority to govern. Anything less, in general, would mean that parties may try to work together to form a coalition.

10 June 2024

Will the US follow Europe’s lead on interest rate cuts?

As expected, the European Central Bank (ECB) lowered interest rates by 25 basis points last week. The main refinancing rate is now 4.25%, and the deposit rate is 3.75%. Even though the decision was expected, European equities fell slightly, government bond prices rose (yields fell), and the euro appreciated right after the announcement.

03 June 2024

The European Central Bank looks set to cut rates this week

Inflation in the Eurozone rose for the first time this year, adding to worries that the inflation-easing trend may have come to a halt therefore limiting the European Central Bank’s (ECB) ability to cut interest rates. We disagree: we think that inflation progress is just slowing.

27 May 2024

The AI rally is intact

There were contrasting trends in markets last week. On the one hand, Nvidia beating earnings expectations once again and raising guidance for the next quarter supported the AI rally and bolstered tech stock more broadly, with the Nasdaq closing 1.4% higher.

21 May 2024

Watching Europe’s nascent recovery

Last week, stocks from the US to Europe and the UK closed again at all-time highs, and government bond prices rose as yields fell, after April inflation data in the US came in broadly as expected. Inflation fell slightly, which marked a welcome relief from the rising trend we’ve seen in the first three months of the year.

06 May 2024

Interest rate cuts in Europe before the US

Given the recent upside surprises in inflation, the market was somewhat relieved that the US Federal Reserve (Fed) Chair Powell made clear that the central bank is not considering raising rates. Powell only confirmed what we, and many others, had suspected: interest rate cuts are not that imminent anymore.

29 April 2024

Markets adjust to less imminent rate cuts

Thursday’s US GDP growth print revealed more inflationary pressures in the first quarter than expected. As such, the market now only expects the US Federal Reserve (Fed) to cut interest rates once or twice, in September and/or December.

22 April 2024

The Middle East and the markets

In the latest tit-for-tat exchange, Israel struck Iran last Friday in response to Iran’s strike on Israel the previous week. It’s possible that Israel’s limited response could end the round of direct clashes between the two countries, at least for the time being, given that both countries have described their actions as a specific operation in response to the actions from the other (the very definition of tit-for-tat), rather than as an attempt to escalate more generally.

15 April 2024

Does the US Federal Reserve need to cut rates in the summer?

The release of the March US consumer inflation data, which was hotter than expected, lead markets to rethink when the US Federal Reserve (Fed) would start cutting rates. Markets now expect the Fed will cut rates later and only twice this year.

08 April 2024

Markets turning to US inflation again

Major equity indices fell last week, likely concerned by escalating tensions in the Middle East, which pushed oil prices above 90 US dollars per barrel for the first time since October 2023.

25 March 2024

How much do central banks affect markets?

After eight years in negative territory, the Bank of Japan (BoJ) lifted its key policy rate to 0-0.1% last week. It was an important move but widely expected, so markets carried on as usual.

18 March 2024

What’s driving the equity rally?

Equity indices from the US to Japan and through Europe continue to make record highs week after week. Last week was no different, although some indices closed flat such as the US S&P 500. There’s a structural element to this rally, which we carry in our portfolios.

11 March 2024

Interest rates cuts still likely in June

It wasn’t obvious from the solid figures on job growth, but we’ve got more signs that the US labour market is indeed cooling. The unemployment rate rose to 3.9%, the highest reading since January 2022, while wage growth, job openings, and job quits slowed. This combination of data supported markets.

04 March 2024

Markets focusing on better US prospects

There were no big surprises from last week’s US inflation reading (the personal consumption expenditures index), which rose 0.3% from December to January or 2.4% year-on-year. This has left markets largely unperturbed as strong earnings and economic growth continue to drive sentiment upward. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq equity indices closed at record highs again, while US Treasury yields remained flat.

26 February 2024

The Nvidia-led stock market rally

Despite some apprehension from markets early last week (Nvidia stock price fell by 10% before results were announced), Nvidia’s quarterly earnings did beat expectations once again.

19 February 2024

A balancing act between expectations and reality

Last week, US inflation slowed less than expected. This caused equity and bond prices to fall and the US dollar to rise as markets quickly reevaluated their expectations of rate cuts from the US Federal Reserve (Fed).

05 February 2024

No imminent rate cut is no problem for buoyant US economy

The US Federal Reserve (Fed), Bank of England (BoE) and Sweden’s Riksbank all kept interest rates unchanged at their meetings last week.

29 January 2024

Better growth prospects boost markets

US equities continued to rise to make new record highs last week. US Treasury Secretary, Janet Yellen, said that inflation is now under control.

22 January 2024

Patience in an uncertain environment

US equities rose back to their historical highs last week, driven mainly by AI optimism as chipmakers from the US to Taiwan posted strong gains.

15 January 2024

The last-mile inflation challenge

The second week of 2024 saw rising equity prices after starting the year with a sharp pullback. Sector-wise, the main US technology segments rose the most, energy lagged.

08 January 2024

Have rate cut expectations gone too far?

Markets cheered as central banks held rates at the end of 2023 and priced in more rate cuts for this year. These dynamics bolstered equity markets, which continued to rally towards year-end.

05 December 2023

Cutting through the noise

This note summarises our 2024 Investment Outlook, from the key forecasts and expectations underpinning our investment strategy to what they mean for asset allocation and how we invest in flagship portfolios.

27 November 2023

Markets stay positive, inflation remains in focus

Last Thursday’s US Thanksgiving holiday meant market moves were more muted than in recent weeks, but still in line with November’s positive trend. Equities continued their strong run, particularly in the US, which recorded gains for the fourth week in a row.

20 November 2023

The rally continues amidst falling inflation

Equity markets continued their November strong run this week. The rally was supported by inflation for the US and UK both falling more than expected

13 November 2023

Is the Fed doing enough? We think so

The strong rise in equity prices since the start of November was briefly brought back down to earth last week following a Thursday speech by US Federal Reserve (Fed) Chairman Jerome Powell.

06 November 2023

Will bond yields peak alongside growth and rates?

Last week was one of two halves. October closed with gold prices rising as investors fled to safe-haven assets amid geopolitical uncertainty and expectations of further rate increases, while equities continued the downward trend that started in the summer.

30 October 2023

Strong US economic growth, mixed earnings growth

Equity prices continued to fall across the board last week due, in part, to mixed company earnings reports and ongoing geopolitical concerns.

16 October 2023

Geopolitical risks underpin a defensive approach

So far, the latest bout of geopolitical uncertainty, triggered by the Israel-Hamas conflict, has had a moderate and short-lived impact on markets.

09 October 2023

Maintaining a defensive positioning with an eye on the interest rate path

Growth concerns weighed on markets during the first part of last week as data revealed a slowing in economic activity.

02 October 2023

Staying composed with well-diversified strategy amid market volatility

After interest rates rose from near 0% to around 5% in developed countries, major central banks have now signalled rates will plateau soon, in line with our core view.

18 September 2023

ECB is the first central bank to signal a pause

Risk assets continued their progression last week and generally outperformed defensive assets like bonds or gold.

11 September 2023

The calm before the (potential) storm

Last week was relatively quiet regarding economic releases and the same can be said for equity and bond markets, which ended the week only slightly negative, while the US dollar rose.

04 September 2023

A month of two halves

Equities and developed market government bonds both came under pressure at the start of August, before recovering slightly towards the end of the month.

21 August 2023

China’s economic slowdown continues

It hasn’t been a strong week for China. Retail sales, industrial output, and investments slowed more than expected last week; Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index also entered bear market territory.

08 August 2023

European recession fears resurface

Last week, the main headline was the downgrade of the US long-term rating to AA+ from AAA by Fitch Ratings, sending 10-year US Treasury yields temporarily to their highest levels in 2023, at some point reaching close to 4.2%.

11 July 2023

Is good economic news bad market news?

A batch of strong US economic data sent markets lower last week. Equities and bonds fell as markets anticipated the negative impact on economic activity of further interest rate increases.

04 July 2023

The inflation battle is not over

The message from central bankers at last week’s European Central Bank (ECB) Forum was that the overall level of inflation is still uncomfortably high. ECB President Christine Lagarde said that while “significant progress” had been made, policymakers “cannot declare victory yet”.

27 June 2023

Watching monetary policy and geopolitics

The weekend saw the news of potential instability in Russia, with a brief mutiny of a paramilitary faction.

20 June 2023

Taking stock at the midpoint

The decisions taken by central banks last week generally were in line with our expectations, as expressed in our Mid-Year Outlook.

22 May 2023

Alternating market sentiment

Optimism seems to have crept back into markets late last week, with indications that a debt ceiling deal could be within reach in the US, which pushed equities and bond yields higher.

15 May 2023

US debt ceiling talks at the forefront

In the absence of major economic data releases this week, the market’s attention will stay on the US debt ceiling negotiations.

02 May 2023

Close to final rate increase in the US, but not in Europe

With the earnings season underway, the big takeaway so far has been from US banks. There were market fears that the US banking turmoil may resurface but financials have reported positive earnings growth bolstered by major US banks.

18 April 2023

More signs that inflation is easing further

With the March banking crisis fears now seemingly behind us, together with weaker-than-expected US inflation and strong data out of China, risk assets performed well last week.

04 April 2023

Sentiment improves as bank risks ease

There was a reprieve rally in global markets last week on the back of receding fears over the banking sector and strong Chinese data for March.

21 March 2023

Credit Suisse turmoil underscores defensive positioning

The fast-moving financial markets saw the attention switch from fears of stickier-than-expected inflation to the banking troubles in the US and in Switzerland.

14 March 2023

The implications of SVB

Risks to financial stability stemming from the turmoil of US regional banks, such as Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), are back at the forefront and are reshuffling the monetary policy outcomes for the Federal Reserve (Fed).

06 March 2023

Looking west for bonds, east for equities

Markets are concerned the disinflation narrative might be losing steam following hot inflation prints in the US and Europe, which sent government bond yields higher across the board.

27 February 2023

All eyes (still) on inflation

Given the European Central Bank’s (ECB) hawkish tone in recent weeks, all eyes will be on the euro area preliminary inflation print for February in the hope that it shows signs of easing price pressures.

14 February 2023

Inflation matters

All eyes are on the US inflation data release this week, which is expected to have continued to slow down compared to January 2022 (headline and core). However, it remains to be seen if the recent disinflationary comment from Fed Chairman Jerome Powell holds true.

31 January 2023

Awaiting key central bank meetings

Despite the market optimism since the start of the year, we are maintaining our slight risk-off stance in the near-term with a preference for higher quality assets with more defensive characteristics.

17 January 2023

Inflation fears abate further

The sustained fall in US inflation alongside the reopening of China’s economy and a warmer-than-normal European winter brought hopes of a more optimistic start to 2023 than initially feared by markets.

12 December 2024

New horizons: Quintet unveils 2025 investment outlook

Following a 12-month period when the global economy demonstrated surprising resilience, the outlook for 2025 suggests a return to more normalized growth. Such growth is expected to be led by the United States – with forecast annual GDP expansion of 2.5% – with the UK and eurozone lagging at 1.5% and 0.8%, respectively.

11 November 2024

Quintet/BlackRock survey unveils trends among European high net worth individuals

European high net worth individuals (HNWIs) are broadly confident about the future, but many have not yet started planning for it, according to The Rise of Generational Wealth: 2024 Quintet/BlackRock European Wealth Insights, a survey of HNWIs in Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands and the UK.

08 November 2024

Stéphane Pardini appointed Head of Wealth Management at Quintet Luxembourg

Thomas Klein appointed Group Head of Asset Servicing & Financial Intermediaries

19 September 2024

Quintet sets its sights on Finland

Luxembourg-headquartered private bank recruits team of five experienced Finnish wealth management professionals and launches Finnish Desk

20 June 2024

Staying the course: Quintet unveils 2024 midyear investment outlook

As key elections approach that could shape the policy landscape, Quintet highlights the dynamics that will drive the global economy and financial markets over the second half of 2024 and beyond

23 May 2024

Quintet celebrates 75 years in Luxembourg!

Quintet Private Bank, headquartered in Luxembourg and operating across Europe and the UK, today marked the 75th anniversary of its founding in the Grand Duchy.

16 April 2024

Quintet partners with BlackRock to launch first in series of new funds

Quintet Private Bank, headquartered in Luxembourg and operating across Europe and the UK, announced today the launch of the first in a series of multi-manager UCITS funds designed with BlackRock, the leading global asset manager.

28 March 2024

Quintet 2023 net profit rises to €46.9 million

Quintet Private Bank, founded 75 years ago in Luxembourg and operating across Europe and the UK, announced today its positive 2023 financial results, including a full-year net profit of €46.9 million, up from €18.1 million in 2022.

25 January 2024

Christine Lynch named Group Chief Risk Officer at Quintet Private Bank

Experienced international risk professional joins private banking group’s leadership team

12 December 2023

Cutting through the noise: Quintet unveils 2024 investment outlook

European wealth manager highlights core dynamics that will drive the global economy, financial markets and key asset classes in 2024 and beyond

10 October 2023

Quintet Private Bank and Moonfare partner to expand private-market access

Quintet partners with Moonfare to facilitate client access to top-tier private-market opportunities via end-to-end digital investment platform

25 September 2023

Anna Zakrzewski named Group Chief Operating Officer at Quintet Private Bank

Experienced international wealth management specialist to join private banking group’s leadership team amidst growth drive

06 July 2023

Quintet selects BlackRock to extend investment capabilities

Quintet Private Bank, headquartered in Luxembourg and operating across Europe, announced today the signing of a memorandum of understanding with BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager.

08 June 2023

Peaks, pauses and pickups: Quintet unveils 2023 midyear investment outlook

European wealth manager highlights core dynamics that will drive the global economy, financial markets and key asset classes over the second half of 2023 and beyond.

23 March 2023

Quintet announces positive 2022 financial results

Quintet Private Bank announced today its 2022 financial results, highlighting the ongoing growth of its core business over a 12-month period marked by the firm’s return to profitability.

15 December 2022

Shifting markets: Quintet unveils 2023 investment outlook

“Counterpoint” highlights dynamics that will drive the global economy, financial markets and key asset classes over a year marked by cyclical change

06 October 2022

Quintet recognized for excellence at Global Wealth Awards

Luxembourg-headquartered independent wealth manager named one of Europe’s ‘Outstanding Private Banks’ , also recognized among world’s ‘Best Banks for Sustainability and ESG Leadership’

21 June 2022

The age of disruption: Quintet unveils midyear investment outlook

“Counterpoint” highlights dynamics that will drive the global economy, financial markets and key asset classes over the second half of 2022 and beyond

12 May 2022

Chris Allen named Group CEO of Quintet Private Bank

Former HSBC Head of Global Private Banking, EMEA, to lead Quintet into next stage of its long-term growth

01 April 2022

Quintet announces 2021 financial results, highlights growth in core business

Quintet Private Bank announced today its 2021 financial results, highlighting the ongoing growth of its core business over that 12-month period.

07 December 2021

The big reset: Quintet unveils 2022 investment outlook

“Counterpoint” highlights dynamics that will drive the world economy, financial markets and key asset classes over the next 12 months

07 September 2021

Amundi and Quintet partner to accelerate sustainable investments in emerging markets

Quintet commits €200 million to Amundi Funds Emerging Markets Green Bond in line with broader focus on generating positive real-world impact

08 June 2021

From healing to growing: Quintet unveils midyear investment outlook

“Counterpoint” highlights bullish view on global economy and equity markets, despite near-term inflation concerns and expected higher volatility

27 May 2021

Thomas Klein named Group Head of Asset Servicing, Europe, at Quintet Private Bank

Experienced banker to drive growth of Quintet’s book of institutional and private clients seeking world-class global custody and execution services

23 April 2021

Quintet announces 2020 financial results

Total income rises to €513 million, while total client assets reach €85 billion

18 March 2021

Ole Jensby named CEO, Nordics, at Quintet Private Bank

Experienced wealth management professional promoted to leadership role overseeing Quintet’s Northern European growth and expansion

03 February 2021

Henrik Drusebjerg named Head of Nordic Investment Strategy at Quintet

Leading Copenhagen-based investment strategist to assume new role at Denmark’s newest private bank

05 January 2021

Quintet highlights 5 core convictions for the global economy and markets in 2021

In the depths of winter, European private bank looks to the future with confidence, expects worldwide recovery to accelerate in the spring

05 October 2020

Quintet Private Bank opens for business in Denmark

Quintet Danmark, based in Copenhagen, to meet long-term wealth management needs of Danish individuals and families.

03 July 2020

Quintet introduces "Quintet Europe"

Private banking group announces intention to merge majority of European subsidiaries to support execution of long-term growth strategy

24 June 2020

From despair to repair

Quintet unveils midyear investment outlook: “Counterpoint” highlights cautiously optimistic view on global economy and markets

15 May 2020

Quintet announces 2019 financial results

Quintet Private Bank, headquartered in Luxembourg and operating in 50 European cities, announced today its financial results for the 12-month period ending December 31, 2019.

23 March 2020

Statement from Quintet Private Bank

Quintet Private Bank announced today, with profound sadness, that the firm's Group CEO and a member of the Board of Directors, passed away on Sunday at the age of 52.

16 January 2020

KBL epb rebrands as Quintet

Pan-European private banking group introduces new name and corporate identity, reflecting partnership approach to wealth management

20 June 2019

KBL epb expands UK footprint with acquisition of NW Brown

Fourth UK acquisition by KBL epb group in past four years

All articles

German election – a driver for Eurozone growth?

New horizons

Nouveaux horizons

Preparing for the unpredictable

Stimulus and Sustainability in China: A Growing Tension

The rise of generational wealth: Unlocking new possibilities

US elections: a pivotal moment

2024: The Mother of All Election Years

Giving credit where it’s due

Navigating market volatility

Travel Light

Why should investors consider adding private markets to their portfolios?

Europe revisited

French elections – a hung parliament, with a twist

UK election: Market insights

Influencing change through active ownership

A deep-dive on the French elections

Staying the course

Why we think our 2024 currency forecasts are on track

Making waves: the Impact of AI on Water Usage

European green shoots

Stay active! (But don’t overdo it)

The case for small-cap equities

In the balance

Retire in style: four steps for planning new possibilities

Sustainability: Seizing the opportunity

Is investing fashionable?

Reshoring – The world is not flat anymore

The tide is turning

(Invest) some of your time

Making New Year’s resolutions for your wealth legacy

How to include liquid alternatives in a traditional portfolio

Daniele Antonucci: "Making sense of things and connecting the dots"

Investors’ worst enemy (themselves?)

Three reasons why in 2023 big thematic trends have influenced markets

The AI Revolution

Quality bonds turn more attractive

It’s what you know (and just ain’t so)

Barbiemania?

Why Americans Do It Better?

Peak rates: a moving target

Investing with purpose: How defining your values can help with financial success

Quintet 3-year-thematic: Why zooming out is also important

Discover Luana’s experience as a graduate

Interest rate peak in sight

Instagram vs Reality: Your practical guide to investing

Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) integration

Go west for bonds & east for stocks

ESG and performance

Investing like a girl: What you can learn from female investors

Timing the market vs time in the market

Bonds are back

Sustainable solutions

The USD hedge with an edge

Market thinking, fast and slow

Success and excess

The R word

Micro meets macro

Investing thematically in a market transition

Peaks and valleys

Positive earnings surprises but softer guidance

Reading the signs (and the curves)

Looking east: investing in Asia high yield

The yield curve and recession: truth and myth

Ukraine War: themes to de-risk economies

French elections: geopolitics all around

The economic consequences of war

Off the lows

Russian dolls

Recycled gold

How we’re thinking about Russia/Ukraine and our investment strategy

Solid Q4 results with signs of divergence

Innovation nation

Rearview mirror

The name is bond

Moving past the peak

Big macro vs little macro

Thematic investing: fast forward to the future

Cheques and imbalances