Throughout the past year, InvestorDaily has sought to bring you a wide range of views and insights in our analysis section. Here are the most popular pieces of the past year.
1. Do not confuse ESG analysis with sustainable investment
George Whiting, head of distribution for sustainable funds at Perennial Better Future Trust argued that ESG analysis and sustainable investing are not interchangeable.
“The two are often used together, creating some confusion about concepts that are new to many investors,” Mr Whiting wrote in February.
“We thought explaining the difference could be helpful, hopefully leading to the conclusion that sustainable investing as an investment style, may not be for everyone, but ESG as an analysis tool should be integrated, in some capacity, into every investment decision.”
2. Private debt: Many happy returns
Mark Papendieck, chief growth officer at Integrated Portfolio Solutions, observed a surge in interest in private credit and debt funds among the firm’s clients this year.
“Expected returns from private credit funds have generally increased as official interest rates and inflation have moved upward as the year has progressed,” he said in January.
“This is because private credit structures generally have interest rates based on a floating ‘base rate’ benchmark overlaid by a healthy margin meaning that investor income rises alongside interest rate increases.”
3. The story of 2 Barrys: A green bond fable
Tony Adams, head of sustainable investment research at Lonsec Research, presented readers with a fable to explain the ‘use of proceeds’ clauses for green bonds.
“Green bonds often refer to a ‘use of proceeds’ clause to justify the greenness of the bond,” Mr Adams explained in February.
“‘Use of proceeds’ indicates what the issuer of the bond intends doing with the money they have raised from issuing the bond. With green bonds, a ‘use of proceeds’ type bond indicates that the proceeds raised by the bond will be ‘earmarked’ for green projects.”
4. Shifting trends in the retail space
Nick Taylor, senior managing director of international retail at Gordon Brothers, identified a retail revolution in an analysis piece towards the beginning of the year and pointed to four circular trends that he said will “change the landscape, globally and locally, forever”.
In particular, Mr Taylor predicted that retail rental was set to explode and further forecast that the resale market will boom. Meanwhile, he tipped that so-called clean retail would grow and dirty retail would be punished.
5. Why and what if inflation falls faster than expected?
In February, Mahmood Pradhan, head of global macroeconomics, and Annalisa Usardi, senior economist at the Amundi Institute, discussed a hypothetical scenario in which inflation fell faster than expected.
“High inflation has not triggered a wage-price spiral in the advanced economies. Monetary tightening has contained inflation expectations and a continued firm stance will bring down inflation, possibly faster than expected,” they wrote.
