By Alistair Laing on What Investment - Investment for retirement How does an ESG algorithm score a solar power producer delivering zero emissions but with assets implicated in modern slavery? The 16th century scientific revolution started a process that has revealed many of the great mysteries of the universe. Gravity, the structure of matter and the basis of life itself have all succumbed to scientific enquiry. Given the phenomenal power of the scientific method, it is unsurprising the approach has been turned onto many pressing social questions of the day. A recent example is a hugely ambit ..read more

By Lawrence Gosling on What Investment - Investment for retirement The number of funds consistently achieving top returns fell dramatically during the first quarter of 2022 due to a barrage of market shocks During the first quarter of 2022, the smallest number of funds in more than a decade generated top-quartile returns over three consecutive 12-month periods, according to the latest survey by the multimanager investment team at BMO Global Asset Management. Just five (0.45%) of the 1,115 funds in the 12 sectors researched achieved top-quartile returns consistently over a three-year period as ..read more

By David Kimberley on What Investment - Investment for retirement Investors in Latin America had a tough time in 2021. Whereas governments in most developed economies propped up equities markets with massive economic stimulus over the course of the pandemic, support was less forthcoming in Brazil and Chile. Currency devaluations and, in some instances, poor management of the pandemic only compounded the problem. None of this was ever likely to help rally stock markets, so it’s not too surprising the MSCI EM Latin American Index fell by 8.1% last year. But as a former Soviet leader said, there ..read more

By Peter Elston on What Investment - Investment for retirement This month, we set out a classification scheme for publicly available investment funds. It is hoped this can provide those readers who do not have a firm grasp of the fund landscape with the tools necessary for further enquiry. The approach of this piece is to present a list of features by which all publicly available funds can be classified. I have numbered each characteristic for ease of reference but there is no right or wrong order. It does however seek to flow as logically as possible, eg from fund structure-related to invest ..read more

By Stephanie Spicer on What Investment - Investment for retirement The climate change transition offers opportunities for investors through companies providing solutions to other businesses in this space, helping the economy to reduce climate related risks. These include energy, agricultural, industrial and building solutions. Investing in higher-carbon emitters should not be ruled out, as excluding such stocks is counterproductive for achieving future zero-carbon emission gains, argues Alliance Trust. Engagement first Alliance Trust is committed to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 a ..read more

By Chris Miles on What Investment - Investment for retirement In volatile times, it is important for clients to remember that smart investing can overcome the power of emotion by focusing on relevant research, solid data and proven strategies. Here are seven principles we believe can help guide investors during market declines. Market declines are inevitable Over long periods of time, stocks have tended to move steadily higher, but history tells us that stock market declines are an inevitable part of investing. The good news is that corrections (defined as a 10% or greater decline), bear ma ..read more

By Lawrence Gosling on What Investment - Investment for retirement The magazine launched back September 1982 and the editor at the time, Chris Gilchrist, started the simple, plain English approach to investing, which he later took into a career as a very good independent financial adviser. Ironically he retired from being an adviser early in the year having had a career in financial services even longer than What Investment. And with the end of What Investment magazine it is also the end of the What Investment daily newsletter and the website will no longer be updated on a regular basis. If y ..read more

By Oliver Brown on What Investment - Investment for retirement One of the many questions investors are asking right now is whether smaller companies are more shielded from geopolitical issues than their larger counterparts, as Russia’s invasion of the Ukraine continues to cause turmoil and uncertainty across global stock markets. First, we need to consider that we live in an ever-more connected world. Europe still relies on importing Russian oil and gas and much of our food is imported from around the world. Supply chains, from the vehicles we drive to the clothes we wear, are part of a conso ..read more

By Lawrence Gosling on What Investment - Investment for retirement The stock market’s outlook has deteriorated since the start of the year. High inflation, rising interest rates and increasingly uncertain economic prospects have combined to negatively impact investor sentiment towards a wide range of companies. For example, the FTSE 250 index has declined by around 20% since the turn of the year. Similarly, the S&P 500, which includes the 500 largest listed companies in the US, is down approximately 25% year-to-date. Within both indexes, some stocks have fallen much further than the wider ..read more

Originally written by Alistair Laing on What Investment How does an ESG algorithm score a solar power producer delivering zero emissions but with assets implicated in modern slavery? The 16th century scientific revolution started a process that has revealed many of the great mysteries of the universe. Gravity, the structure of matter and the basis of life itself have all succumbed to scientific enquiry. Given the phenomenal power of the scientific method, it is unsurprising the approach has been turned onto many pressing social questions of the day. A recent example is a hugely ambitious serie ..read more