EPFR Fund Flows

Flickers of hope for trade and Brexit deals boost risk appetite

By Cameron Brandt 18 Oct 2019

Flickers of hope for trade and Brexit deals boost risk appetite The second week of October saw flows to EPFR-tracked High Yield and Emerging Markets Bond rebound, US and UK Equity Funds snap three-week outflow streaks and UK Bond Funds post their biggest inflow since June as Sino-US trade and UK-EU exit deal talks took turns for the better. Investors are also pricing in another rate cut from the US Federal reserve when it meets on the final days of the month.

EPFR Fund Flows

Flow of Funds Infographic

16 Oct 2019

EPFR Fund Flows

Quants Corner

By Vik Srimurthy 15 Oct 2019

Going A Viking The four Nordic countries in continental Europe, Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Finland, are often viewed as a group of homogenous nations on Europe’s northern flank with a shared aversion to conflict, a taste for social democracy and robust welfare states. Investors tend to approach them as a group that offers some comparative insights and uncorrelated exposure relative to the ‘core’ European markets.

EPFR Fund Flows

Data Simply Scores: Enhance your SRI and ESG lenses

By Cameron Brandt 15 Oct 2019

The pursuit of pure Alpha and recognition of less tangible but equally – or more -- worthy goals, is as old as recorded financial history. In its current incarnation, a financial industry tempered by the “greed is good” era is scrambling to accommodate new generations of investors who place a high premium on environmental and social goals. These investors are backing up their interest in environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues with growing amounts of money. The equity funds tracked by Informa Financial Intelligence, EPFR have posted collective net outflows of over $225 billion so far this year, with the ESG subset or socially responsible investment (SRI) mandates attracting over $35 billion in 2019.

IGM Credit, IGM FX and Rates

China Insight: The US May Consider Limiting Investments in China

By Tim Cheung 15 Oct 2019

A couple of negative headlines came out on 8 October before the 13th round of US-China trade talks starts. The US blacklisted 28 Chinese entities and government agencies over human rights violations and repression in Xinjiang; White House has started looking to consider limits on the US pension investments in Chinese equities;

IGM Credit, IGM FX and Rates

The Context 10.14.19

14 Oct 2019

Inside this week’s edition of The Context, Financial Intelligence thought leaders discuss: Pressure on South Africa to Restructure Eskom & Keep Debt in Check Ahead of Moody's Review Eskom is the biggest threat to the economy, which means restructuring is essential. The ANC has said it is working on a plan for Eskom and this is expected to be unveiled, along with a new Chief Executive Officer (Eskom has been without one since July), ahead of the 30th October mid-term budget statement. The CAD Week - Bias is Neutral The stellar Canadian jobs report last Friday sent Usd/Cad spiralling down to 1.3171 at one stage, its lowest level for a month. The data has pushed interest rate cut expectations before year end significantly lower. Euro Corp Snapshot: Weekly Supply Jumps Despite ongoing economic concerns and a volatile backdrop, the European corporate market saw supply accelerate sharply last week where issuers printed a total of EUR14.067bn. That is over six times the EUR2.15bn that printed the prior week. Read more from The Context and subscribe to have it delivered to your inbox each week!

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Ryan Nauman's Weekly Recap 10.14.19

By Ryan Nauman 14 Oct 2019

The third quarter earnings cycle kicks off in earnest this week, headlined by some of the biggest names in the financial sector. It will be interesting to hear how financials were able to control costs while low interest rates and the inverted yield curve put pressure on their income potential. As for economic data, housing data will capture the headlines. Recent data on the housing sector has shown promise, and we will see if falling mortgage rates continued to provide a boost to the sector. Read more from Ryan Nauman's Weekly Recap and subscribe to have it delivered to your inbox each week!

EPFR Fund Flows

Trade issues, earnings and political risk reclaim center stage from central bankers in early October

By Cameron Brandt 11 Oct 2019

Trade issues, earnings and political risk reclaim center stage from central bankers in early October After a quarter when both the US Federal Reserve and European Central Bank reversed course on the normalization of their monetary policies, the focus during the first week October shifted from central bankers to the Sino-Chinese trade war, the latest corporate earnings season and impending elections in Spain, Canada and Argentina.

EPFR Fund Flows

EPFR Explainer Video

09 Oct 2019

EPFR provides fund flows and asset allocation data to global financial institutions. EPFR data helps portfolio managers, asset allocators, strategists and research teams generate alpha by giving them a clear picture of where money is moving, how fund managers are investing that money, and what impact those shifts are having on geographies, sectors, industries and securities.

IGM Credit, IGM FX and Rates

The Context 10.07.19

07 Oct 2019

Inside this week’s edition of The Context, Financial Intelligence thought leaders discuss: Can’t Get Away From The Fed’s Balance Sheet Several of the Fed’s cross-currents will be front and centre as the minutes to the last FOMC emerge (Wednesday). Fed talk during the recent week has softened as the data highlighted the growing threat to the US economy, not just from an international perspective but also domestically. The GBP Week - Bias is Neutral BREXIT, of course, will be uppermost in investors’ minds and though GBP/USD looks to be in relative mid-range right now the downside looks most vulnerable given the current state of play. Turkey’s Economic Miracle Puts Lira Stability at Risk There is a risk that once again the Turkish Lira will become vulnerable to a deterioration in external sentiment, especially as there remains the overhanging geo-political risk of US sanctions, whilst increased tension between Iran and Saudi Arabia could drive up oil prices, adding fuel to a potential deterioration in the current account and inflation. Read more from The Context and subscribe to have it delivered to your inbox each week!

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Ryan Nauman's Weekly Recap 10.07.19

By Ryan Nauman 07 Oct 2019

All eyes will be on the renewed trade talks between the U.S. and China during the upcoming week. The stakes are getting higher as we inch towards an election year, global economies are slowing due to trade uncertainties, and political chaos is certain to remain heightened due to the impeachment inquiry. I don’t expect both sides to come to a truce this week, however, any sign of progress will be good, while investors may doubt a deal will ever get done if we have another breakdown in talks. Read more from Ryan Nauman's Weekly Recap and subscribe to have it delivered to your inbox each week!

EPFR Fund Flows

Money Market Funds close books on record setting quarter

By Cameron Brandt 04 Oct 2019

Money Market Funds close books on record setting quarter The third quarter ended as it began, with EPFR-tracked Equity Funds experiencing net redemptions and Bond Funds net inflows that took their year-to-date totals to -$230 billion and +$481 billion respectively, as investors continue to brace for a cyclical downturn that they have been anticipating for the better part of four years. In recent months their outlook has been shared by the world’s major central banks. Since the beginning of July the US Federal Reserve cut interest rates twice to sustain the current recovery and the European Central Bank, faced with a sharp slowdown in the German economy, restarted the quantitative easing program it wrapped up at the end of last year. Not surprisingly, mutual fund investors are revisiting their assumptions about yield, global economic growth and inflation. High Yield and Inflation Protected Bond Funds, which both posted collective outflows during 2Q19, saw flows rebound during the third quarter and dedicated Gold Funds recorded their biggest quarterly inflow since 2Q16. Liquidity has also assumed even greater importance: the provisional number for Money Markets Funds during 3Q19 eclipses the previous inflow record set in 4Q08 at the height of the sub-prime debt crisis.

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Rutger Responds: Insights from Finovate Fall 2019

By Rutger van Faassen 04 Oct 2019

Rutger Responds: Insights from Finovate Fall 2019 I spent three exciting days at Finovate Fall 2019 in New York last week witnessing the latest and greatest from over 70 fintechs. As a first-time attendee, I enjoyed the innovative format exhibitors used of more “showing” and less “telling” with seven-minute demos of specific use cases: which left the audience with a quick snapshot of what each Fintech helps solve and how. The event included a healthy mix of early and late stage fintechs, as well as Financial Institutions, vendors, and investors. There were several interesting key notes containing key themes that included data driven personal finance, ML and (conversational) AI, robotics, and Digital First. Let’s dive a little deeper into each of them!

EPFR Fund Flows

Quants Corner

By Mike Simcock, CEO of ClearMacro 01 Oct 2019

Guest blog – ‘Quantifying the impact of Trade War Tariffs’ This week’s Quant’s Corner is written by Mike Simcock, CEO of ClearMacro, a London-based fintech company. ClearMacro helps clients bridge the gap between systematic and discretionary investment processes by transforming raw data into investible signals, and is partnering with EPFR to stage a panel discussion on monetary and other risks to the global economy on October 9 at The Shard in London.

IGM Credit, IGM FX and Rates

China Insight: We Are Just in Short-Lived Peace

By Tim Cheung 01 Oct 2019

Ahead of high-level trade talks scheduled for the second week of October in Washington, there is the growing expectation that an interim or mini deal between the US and China will be reached there.