Blog - Economy

Ahead of the largest annual human migration in the world, China has opened the floodgates to economic growth and COVID-19. Multi-asset fund manager Will McIntosh-Whyte hopes the Lunar New Year is a happy and prosperous one, for the Chinese and for the world.

Multi-asset fund manager Will McIntosh-Whyte channels his inner Scrooge as he confronts Christmases Past and Present. Can they provide investors with helpful insights about what’s to come?

Old buildings that fail to keep in heat aren’t just expensive for their residents. They’re also costly for the climate. Head of Equities Sanjiv Tumkur examines some of the innovations seeking to address this challenge.

As head of fixed income Bryn Jones remembers his favourite World Cup, he asks whether investors might want to think about revisiting their bond allocations as they try to meet their investment goals.

Slowing economic growth, high inflation and rising interest rates are weighing heavily on global equity markets. Favouring different equity ‘styles’ is one way to try to protect portfolios. Head of equities Sanjiv Tumkur explains that stocks with strong ‘quality’ characteristics tend to outperform in economic slowdowns. So what defines a ‘quality’ company?

The UK government has shattered against a new generation of bond vigilantes. Halloween came early this year, notes multi-asset fund manager Will McIntosh-Whyte.

Property funds are stinging investors once again because of a run of redemptions. Senior multi-asset investment specialist Craig Brown notes their net asset values are in a happy superposition right up till the point they get measured.

Fashion companies are falling over themselves to show they are improving their questionable sustainability credentials. Yet some of their marketing has got ahead of realities of the shop floor, notes sustainable multi-asset investment specialist Rahab Paracha.

The UK government has given a textbook example of how not to deliver a message. Our multi-asset portfolios fund manager David Coombs picks over the wreckage and finds coherence, but poor execution.

The world has fundamentally changed, argues Rathbone Income Fund co-manager Carl Stick. Higher interest rates and higher inflation mean that cash earned today rather than tomorrow has become much more valuable.

London has been extremely busy in a sun-drenched summer, yet a difficult winter looms. Sustainable multi-asset investment specialist Rahab Paracha asks whether luxury brands are a counterintuitive way to invest defensively in a recession.

With a tough winter approaching, our head of multi-asset investments David Coombs has dusted off the barbell. All the exercise has made him chirpier than usual.