During 2020 the market went through a number of distinct phases from, 1) ignorance of the impending COVID-19 effects (January, February) to, 2) panic (end of February to mid-April) to, 3) the “world will need to change” as a broad
Key takeaways: Emerging market (EM) investment-grade corporate bonds appear particularly attractive in a world of very low but rising interest rates This is even more true for non-USD investors, which benefit currently from very low hedging costs As a result,
Assessing opportunities and risks in mainland China: Key takeaways: In a post pandemic world, China offers unique growth prospects China’s share of global asset allocations has increased and the trend is only starting In sharp contrast to many developed markets,
Investors can choose between two different types of instruments when investing in the corporate high-yield market: traditional high-yield bonds and high-yield CDS indices. In this white paper, we shall look at the performances of the global high-yield bond market since
Inflation? The debate about inflation has been hotting up. During the earnings season, many companies flagged up the fact that they were experiencing higher supply costs. In April, the latest US CPI print – a measure of inflation in the
The European bank earning season has passed and the outlook continues to be positive for AT1s. The vast majority of banks have beaten expectations with capital markets/trading and lower provisions being the main drivers. The expectation, particularly on the provisioning
5 minutes with UBP global fixed income: What do you think of the recent communications from central banks? In this new podcast, our experts Bernard McGrath and Mohammed Kazmi share their views and reflect on the upcoming June meetings.
Though under the radar since the onset of the global pandemic, Japan’s equity markets have outpaced major developed market equities both in 2020 and year-to-date in 2021 as the world seeks to transition to a post-pandemic recovery. Indeed, Japanese equities
Flash update: Ever since 2014, deposit rates in Europe have been negative, creating a headache for investors with this phenomenon unlikely to change in the near future. Current market pricing, for instance, does not have the deposit rate returning to
Whilst the definition is fairly broad, a traditional DMAC investment approach aims to build a balanced portfolio of directional trades that mix traditional and idiosyncratic premia (betas) by taking risk-on/risk-off positions using fundamental macro and market analyses that are not
Whilst the definition is fairly broad, a traditional DMAC investment approach aims to build a balanced portfolio of directional trades that mix traditional and idiosyncratic premia (betas) by taking risk-on/risk-off positions using fundamental macro and market analyses that are not
Monthly Investment Outlook ■ In March, rising yields caused a dramatic rotation in equity markets, leading to modest gains in stock market indices, while exposing global bond investors to losses. ■ Economic activity in the world’s largest economy continued to
The return of volatility to China markets. China’s equity markets have been roiled by a combination of concerns in recent weeks, culminating in the fallout from the Archegos family office liquidations in late March. However, this volatility has retraced …
A compelling investment opportunity: Japanese equities offer attractively priced and more visible earnings growth for 2021 and beyond. Nevertheless, Japanese equities are currently trading at a discount to global equities. And Japan equity markets have outpaced major developed market equities both in 2020 and year-to-date in 2021 as the world seeks to transition to a post-pandemic recovery.
The National People’s Congress (NPC) and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPCC) closed in Beijing on March 11th. This is the most important event on China’s political calendar, as the NPC approves the main policy objectives that will set the tone for the remainder of the year. This year was especially important, as it also …
According to our forecasts, Asia1 is projected to lead the global economic recovery in 2021. On a GDP-weighted basis, the region is expected to expand by 6.6% this year, up from -1.0% in 2020 (Chart 1). Excluding China, Asia will expand at a slower rate of 4.7% in 2021, up from …
A pick-up vs. EUR-denominated investment grade bonds of +110 bps, investors lock-in a higher yield in the USD market as hedging costs to EUR remain low …
February saw US fiscal authorities take the baton from the Federal Reserve and surprise on the upside in terms of proposed spending programmes in the months ahead. This served as a tailwind for global equities and a headwind for …
UBP’s EM Sustainable Corporate Bond strategy was launched three years ago. Since then, the sustainability …
Why renewable energy has come of age in 2020 What changed to make renewable energy such an investment success story in 2020, UBP’s Mathieu Negre asks Renewable energy stands out as one of the main stock market success stories of
2021 began with renewed bouts of volatility with a tug of war emerging between concerns over slow vaccine rollouts especially on the continent and delays in US fiscal support against positive earnings trends.
With Netflix shaping our entertainment choices and Zoom putting faces to our conversations during this extended period of social distancing, the mobile digital revolution that began with four companies in the early days of the 21st century has acquired new players.
In recent weeks, investors were relieved by the positive newsflow around the successful COVID-19 vaccine trials and subsequent implementation of roll-out programmes. However, experts agree that the positive effects on the recovery and getting back to “normality” is not likely to happen before the end of this year. As 2021 looks like a bumpy road, many investors are willing to increase equity risk and directionality, subject to selectivity.
China’s Digital Currency Electronic Payment (DCEP) system was proposed in 2014 and will be one of the first Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDC) in the world. The DCEP was first tested in April 2020 within Shenzhen, Chengdu, Suzhou and Xiong’an New Area (Xiong’an). The pilot in Xiong’an is part of preparations for the 2022 Winter Olympics. The pilots may be expanded to cover several …
Key takeaways: 1) We anticipate that the global growth recovery will remain intact as vaccine distribution will allow economies to gradually normalise, 2) Monetary and fiscal policy shall remain accommodative, 3) We expect this to be a positive environment for credit, whilst interest rate markets have room to breathe higher
With vaccines having been rolled out to combat the global pandemic in late-December, perhaps unsurprisingly, two wealthy, small nations – Israel and the UAE – are among the global leaders in deploying them to their domestic populations.
The 2016 Paris Agreement is at a critical juncture for at least two reasons. First, it recently celebrated its five-year anniversary. It is far too early to analyse the Agreement’s “achievements”, but that will not stop critics from trying. This scrutiny should be welcomed by those whose fear that not enough attention is being paid to rising temperatures’ grave threat to mankind. After all, 2020 was the second-hottest …
UBP Frontier Debt 2020 review and 2021 outlook 2020 confirmed the volatility of Frontier Debt, but also its resilience and mean reverting nature Belief in the longer-term merits of the asset class gave UBP the confidence to launch our fund,
The distinguishing features of impact investing White Paper The growing market According to the Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN), the impact market, which doubled in size in 2018, continued its solid growth in 2020, reaching USD 715 billion. This stunning
Social & Affordable Housing White paper This white paper summarises the social and affordable housing (“S&AH”) sector in the United Kingdom and Ireland. There are similarities in the provision of S&AH in each country and in each there is a
White Paper As in previous crises, the safe-haven status of the Swiss franc and an inflation rate of only 0.2% (as of the end of 2019) have helped Switzerland weather the storm in the past few months. The country has
Corporate bond defaults were once considered a rare occurrence in China. This is because borrowers have historically relied heavily on financial support from stateowned banks in times of trouble. However, things have started to change in the world’s second largest
Monthly Investment Outlook – December Key points Downside risks weigh on Q4 growth in several countries due to rising contagion and pressure on hospitals; European activity should contract in Q4, and a parallel slowdown is expected in the US, while
Monthly Investment Outlook – December Key points Downside risks weigh on Q4 growth in several countries due to rising contagion and pressure on hospitals; European activity should contract in Q4, and a parallel slowdown is expected in the US, while
White Paper: European Small Caps – Rising Stars The big story in 2020 has been the coronavirus pandemic and its impact on the global economy, government finances and corporate earnings, leading to heightened levels of equity market volatility. Smaller companies
Investment Outlook 2021 According to our scenario, all countries should see renewed growth in 2021. Economies have seen a gradual upturn since summer 2020, although the resurgence of Covid-19 cases and new local restrictions are hampering the recovery at the
UBAM – Hybrid Bond Opportunity in European Banks AT1 bonds Key takeaways: Fundamentally, European banks are solid with strong capital ratios and should exit the Covid-19 crisis unscathed The macro picture continues to improve, assisted by significant central bank support
Global & Absolute Return Fixed Income For Professional Investors in Switzerland or Professional Investors as defined by the relevant laws Key takeaways: ■ The outcome of the US elections has reduced hopes of a large fiscal package being passed next
On track since launch: U Access – Long/Short Japan Corporate Governance Key takeaways: U Access – Long/Short Japan Corporate Governance maintained its gross and net exposure in line with the investment philosophy. We can report a constant increase of Assets
Flash update: UBAM – EM Sustainable Corporate Bond Podcast Key takeaways Demand for responsible investment is on the rise and pushed AUMs in UBAM – EM Sustainable Corporate Bond fund above USD 100 mln The fund outperforms YTD, thanks notably
The fintech industry offers a growing and diversified investment universe with more than USD 2 tn market cap depth. Around 180 companies specialising in global payments, financial IT infrastructure, networks & security, data and analytics, insurtech and regtech as well
UBAM – Global Fintech Equity We are pleased to announce the launch of the new fund UBAM – Global Fintech Equity under the Swiss & Global Equity franchise, which now holds 4bn USD in AUM. Why invest in Fintech? Podcast
Spotlight In early-September, the US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell announced a shift in the inflation containment policy regime that had been in place since the 1970s. Recall how, facing rapidly rising and eventually double-digit inflation, then Fed Chair Paul
Flash update: Why does liquidity matter? Podcast Key takeaways: A rapid drying off of liquidity has become a corollary to financial market shocks. However, when the shock materialises, it is too late to worry about liquidity. As it happens, a
Flash Update Liquidity took a central stage during the Covid-19 sell-off. As such, Covid-19 should serve as a wake-up call for investors with regard to the role of liquidity in portfolios. At UBP Global & Absolute Return Fixed Income team,
The current challenging market environment suggests a greater need than ever for alternatives. Hedge funds, which target differentiated, positive absolute returns, provide clear potential benefits. However, institutional investors have …
White Paper In dat verslag worden 200 landen gerangschikt op basis van een COVID-19- gerelateerde veiligheids- en risicoanalyse die steunt op een hele reeks datapunten. Zwitserland kreeg de hoogste algemene score voor zijn doeltreffende maatregelen om de verspreiding van het
Impact Investing In terms of asset class, impact investing has traditionally been associated with private capital. Public equities make up just 17% of the USD 502 billion in assets managed in impact strategies1 , a negligible amount compared with the
White Paper Solid fundamentals for European systemic banks when entering the crisis Covid-19 is not 2008 Global Financial Crisis. European banks entered the Covid-19 crisis with solid capital positions and higher capital ratios than in 2008 courtesy of the new banking …
White Paper The resilience of the Swiss economy has once again been proven during the Covid-19 pandemic and is reflected by the Swiss equity market’s outperformance year to date. Several Swiss companies across all market cap segments have benefited from
