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Is climate-change risk all about fossil fuels? Think again. 

ESG Research , Global Investing

When it comes to reducing greenhouse gases, investors tend to focus on fossil fuels and power generation. But other companies also need to adapt to a lower-carbon world. We look at the implications for five types of companies.

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Underwater assets? Real estate exposure to flood risk 

ESG Research , Real Estate Investing

Real estate investors are buying and leasing assets that might be jeopardized by a climate-changed world. A new analysis can help investors identify high-risk U.K. locations.

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Are rates and equities losing their balance? 

Fixed Income , Models/Client Cases

For most of the past two decades, a benevolent relationship between bonds and equity has prevailed as a central pillar of asset allocation. Falling equity markets consistently coincided with falling interest rates, providing an effective hedge between bond and equity allocations. Now, talk of weaker central-bank policy or a risk of deflation has many asset allocators focused on the future of the rates-equity correlation. 

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Back-to-school (momentum) blues? 

Factor Investing , Models/Client Cases , Factors

The U.S. price momentum factor, which we highlighted for elevated crowding scores and vulnerability to negative performance at the end of June, suffered sizable drawdowns in the first seven trading days of September.

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Real estate may be yielding less than you thought 

Global Investing , Real Estate Investing

Income has long been an important part of real estate returns meaning yields are often heavily scrutinized by investors. However, headline yields do not factor in capital expenditure requirements which can vary significantly. Investors looking to better understand potential “free cash flow” positions of portfolios post-capex may want to adjust the yields they use to account for it.

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MBS investors: quantitative easing déjà vu? 

Fixed Income , Risk Management

Despite the Fed’s silence on the matter, the MBS market may be indicating that a new round of QE is coming.

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Using multi-country multi-currency futures in portfolio management 

Global Investing , Risk Management

Investors seeking to more tightly manage their exposures to regional or global benchmarks are turning to multi-country multi-currency futures.

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A smoother ride? Looking at factor-based asset allocation 

Factor Investing , Models/Client Cases , Risk Management

On the surface, holding-based asset allocation appears to produce stability. But is what you see always what you get? We investigate the pros and cons of a factor-based approach.

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Looking inside ESG indexes 

ESG Research

Many investors want to stick to their values or beliefs, as well as meet certain financial objectives. How can ESG indexes  help them address these goals?

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The last straw: Will plastic become the next stranded asset? 

ESG Research

Oil and gas companies are accelerating investment in plastics, in response to the shift away from fossil fuels. But is this pivot sustainable? Could plastic become the next stranded asset?