The majority of the economic reports over the last two weeks have been disappointing, less than the consensus expectations. The minor rebound in activity we’ve been tracking since last summer appears to have stalled. Retail sales continue to disappoint and inventory/sales ratios are once again rising – from already elevated levels. Even the positive reports were clouded by negative undertones. So far though our market...
Read More »Silver Economy – Investing for Population Aging
Senior population is expected to grow to more than 2 billion people by 2050. Aging society means gains for companies focused on seniors: healthcare and insurance sectors are expected to benefit in particular. The population aging is a global fact. It will strongly influence markets and economies...
Read More »Inflation. A Loyal Swiss Ally
Switzerland has been classified as one of the happiest countries in the world. Commonly stated reasons for this are the sense of community, beautiful landscapes, fresh air, and clean water. Not to mention prosperity. 'Switzerland: A Financial Market History', by the Credit Suisse Research Institute in partnership with leading experts from the London...
Read More »Scaling up Impact Investing
Impact investing is a growing industry that has gained in popularity and importance in the last few years. This is not surprising, says Harvard Professor Michael Chu: It is driven by the concept that a social or ecological problem may be addressed via a commercial platform, which many people find attractive. Due to the high demand, some of the main focus...
Read More »Supertrends: Climate Protection – a Key Value for Millennials
The Millennials are one of the largest generations in history and soon reaching maturity as investors. Their values – particularly caring about the environment and climate change – are most likely to become ever more influential topics and fuel growth in areas such as sustainable investment and clean energy. ...
Read More »Global Asset Allocation Update
There is no change to the risk budget this month. For the moderate risk investor, the allocation between risk assets and bonds is unchanged at 50/50. There are, however, changes within the asset classes. We are reducing the equity allocation and raising the allocation to REITs. Based on the bond markets there has been little change in the growth and inflation outlook since the last asset allocation update. Based on...
Read More »Bi-Weekly Economic Review
The economic data releases since the last update were generally upbeat but markets are forward looking and the future apparently isn’t to their liking. Of course, it is hard to tell sometimes whether bonds, the dollar and stocks are responding to the real economy or the one people hope Donald Trump can deliver when he isn’t busy contradicting his communications staff. Politics has been front and center recently but...
Read More »Supertrends Shape the Future of Investing
Five long-term themes expected to provide attractive investment opportunities in the years ahead. When Alfred Escher, the founding father of Credit Suisse, started his business, he spotted upcoming big trends – railways and industrialization – and did his best to enable investors to reap returns....
Read More »Where Europe Meets Asia
For two decades now, the Asian Investment Conference (AIC), the region's largest and most exclusive investment conference, has delivered unrivalled access to expert speakers from around the world and provided thought-provoking insights. And this year was no different. Over 3,000 attendees joined an impressive line-up of political leaders, entrepreneurs,...
Read More »Credit Suisse Yearbook 2017: Low Interest Rates Hit Returns on Equities
The risk premiums on equities are unlikely to be as high in the future as they have been. This is the conclusion reached by the 2017 Yearbook published by Credit Suisse. In order to make statements regarding future market developments, it is worth taking a look at the past. Therefore, in the latest...
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