How Asian stock markets shook off the pandemic March 10, 2021 | City Talk It seems ancient history now, but 2020 opened with a high degree of optimism for Asian markets. True, valuations were no more than reasonable given the share price gains of the previous twelve months, but conditions appeared favourable and there was a widespread consensus on a global economic recovery and a strong year ahead for [...]
Chasing “financial independence retire early” (FIRE): is it possible? March 8, 2021 | City Talk At what age are you planning to retire? For many the standard answer to this is “somewhere in my 60s or beyond”. Schroders analysis suggests that if you start saving for your retirement at age 20, you’ll need to save between 12% – 15% of your salary for 40 years to retire on 50% of your [...]
The investor’s dilemma: do sustainable funds need a digital detox? March 3, 2021 | City Talk Netflix documentary The Social Dilemma makes for uncomfortable viewing for users of social media channels such as Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube or Twitter. i.e. pretty much all of us. And as a sustainability specialist who invests (at the time of writing) in Alphabet , the parent company of Google and YouTube, I find the issues covered extra [...]
London regains top spot in Schroders’ Global Cities Index March 1, 2021 | City Talk London has returned to the top spot in the Schroders’ Global Cities Index after scoring highly in its response to climate change in comparison to other cities in the index. This year, the index has introduced a transport score into the ranking, with a particular focus on mass transit systems. As a result, car-reliant Los [...]
Will pressure on Chinese tech firms spark renewed interest in value stocks? February 26, 2021 | City Talk The flotation of Ant Group in December last year was supposed to be a landmark event. The initial public offering (IPO) was set to raise $37 billion, valuing Ant at over $313 billion and making it the biggest IPO ever. It was due to list in Hong Kong and Shanghai, rather than having a US [...]
The truth about growth and value performance February 24, 2021 | City Talk A statement I have heard many times in recent years, last year especially, is that the “value” style of investing no longer makes sense. That the very idea of buying an unfashionable stock doesn’t make sense when the new hottest stock with the most epic growth forecasts is being dangled, tantalisingly, in front of you. [...]
Trust me, I’m a chief executive February 19, 2021 | City Talk Public trust in government is waning, as the 2021 Edelman Barometer of Trust revealed recently. Between January and May 2020, trust in government rose in almost all countries: people all over the world put faith in their leaders as the global pandemic took hold. But, interestingly, this trust has subsequently eroded, in some cases to below pre-pandemic [...]
Why I can stomach higher equity valuations – Schroders CIO February 17, 2021 | City Talk The rising involvement of retail investors has been an intriguing trend during the pandemic, culminating in the surge and slump of GameStop shares. As an industry, we worry about the disconnection of individual investors from financial markets, the hubs of wealth creation. Direct ownership of shares by individuals has been declining for decades. For that reason, [...]
Why lockdown winners are not vaccine losers February 15, 2021 | City Talk The past year has brought significant changes to all our lives and sped up the growth of a number of consumer and leisure trends. Online shopping is an obvious example and the same is true for some of the other “lockdown winners”: namely computer games and cook-at-home meal kits. Like online shopping, we think these [...]
On thin ice: the danger posed by thawing permafrost and how businesses need to prepare February 11, 2021 | City Talk Rapidly thawing Arctic permafrost is a prime example of how climate change is impacting natural ecosystems and, in turn, business operations. Permafrost is the name for ground that remains frozen for more than two years. It has existed in this region for millennia. Temperatures in Russia have increased by around two and a half times [...]