How sustainability can make a product stand out November 20, 2020 | City Talk The growing awareness of environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors among customers and investors poses a quandary for companies: how should they react? Predictably, the response has been a mixed one, with the pace and magnitude of action dependent on the extent to which companies view this change as an opportunity as opposed to an [...]
The four “M”s: why the 21st century belongs to Asia November 18, 2020 | City Talk For a look into the future of the global economy, and where the power is shifting, consider technology developments in both China and India., In a mere decade, China’s e-commerce market has grown from less than 1% of global sales, into the world’s largest market in 2016, representing more than 40% of transactions by value. [...]
What are the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals? A quick guide November 18, 2020 | City Talk The United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals are a “blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all”. The UN describes them as a “call for action” to “promote prosperity while protecting the planet”. Read on for what the 17 goals are and what Schroders’ Global Head of Sustainable Investment has to say about [...]
Schroders to raise £250m for investment in Covid winners November 10, 2020 Schroders is set to raise £250m for a new investment trust preparing to float in London that will plug cash into companies that have prospered during the pandemic. Schroders British Opportunities Trust has earmarked 22 listed and private companies for fresh equity, including technology and healthcare firms that have fared well throughout the coronavirus crisis. [...]
Gearing up against greenwashers: investors seek clarity on sustainability terminology November 9, 2020 | City Talk A dearth of clear, agreed sustainability definitions present a challenge to investors looking to invest sustainably. This is according to the results of the Schroders Institutional Investor Study, which surveyed 650 institutional investors across 26 countries during April 2020. Gearing up against greenwashers Greenwashing is about falsely communicating the environmental benefits of a product or [...]
Five trends to watch in China’s consumer sector November 3, 2020 | City Talk As the world continues to try to contain the spread of Covid-19, China is among the few countries sustaining a return to normal activity. Restrictions on movement have been lifted and the government’s test and trace system has so far proven effective in containing new outbreaks. As a result, shops, restaurants and other services have [...]
Biden vs Trump: what are markets telling us? November 2, 2020 | City Talk With less than a week to go until the US presidential election, will Biden’s lead in the polls be enough to convince investors that Trump is poised for defeat? Many think not. After all, the polls notoriously got it wrong four years ago when Trump beat Hillary Clinton. For this reason, there has been heightened [...]
Institutions don’t share retail investors’ optimism on returns October 28, 2020 | City Talk Schroders’ studies suggest retail – or individual – investors are more optimistic about future returns than investors at large institutions. Individuals have indicated that they expect average annual returns of nearly 11% over the next five years while institutional investors anticipate a more moderate 6%. Schroders’ Institutional Investor Study is an analysis of views from [...]
Can behavioural finance explain how investors think about sustainability? October 27, 2020 | City Talk Schroders Global Investor Study 2020 examined the attitudes and beliefs of more than 23,000 investors on sustainability. It is a vast project that yields fascinating insights on the way investors think. We thought it would be interesting to put some questions to Stuart Podmore, Investment Propositions Director and an expert in behavioural finance, about the [...]
Which stock markets look cheap as we enter the final quarter of 2020? October 23, 2020 | City Talk While the virus itself hasn’t gone away, as far as financial markets are concerned, the pit of misery was back in March. At that point, a typical global market stock market portfolio had haemorrhaged around a third of its value in just six weeks. Stocks have soared As is often the case, peak despair turns [...]