The transition to a low-carbon economy consistent with the 2015 Paris Agreement to limit global warming requires ambitious technological advancements and continued scaling of existing technologies. Such a massive economic transition by 2050, with meaningful progress by 2030, would be unprecedented but is not impossible, with adequate focus and funding. Indeed, significant progress has been […]
July 2023
Investors are understandably concerned about US commercial real estate (CRE), given the rapid changes in interest rates since the beginning of 2022 and the recent banking sector stress. Indeed, the Federal Reserve now expects a recession, which we anticipate will lead to declines in real estate prices in the near term. In the medium term, […]
May 2023
Introduction Aaron Costello, Regional Head for Asia, and Vivian Gan, Associate Investment Director, Capital Markets Research The path of global central bank tightening remains a top-of-mind question for investors after the recent stress in the US and European banking sectors. While financial contagion seems contained for now and has yet to spread to Asia, the […]
April 2023
We expect energy equities will be resilient due to underinvestment in recent years. So, we don’t think investors should underweight this economic sector in the near term despite some long-term headwinds from decarbonization efforts. In real estate, we think offices may finally offer some attractive opportunities for the discerning investor. Energy Equities at Benchmark Weights […]
December 2022
Policymakers are in a tough spot. One doesn’t need to look further than the United Kingdom to see their challenges. High inflation and slowing growth have pitted central banks against politicians seeking to stimulate. As a result, capital markets of all sorts—risky and defensive—have corrected sharply. Much bad news has been discounted, but is it […]
November 2022
Yes. The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) will generate significant benefits for companies involved in clean energy. The bill is anticipated to provide almost $370 billion over the next decade to a variety of industries, including utilities, transportation, and manufacturers of products such as batteries and solar components. The ten-year life of these tax credits provides […]
August 2022
Oceans make up 72% of the earth’s surface and have absorbed around 40% of carbon emissions since 1840. As such, investors are increasingly putting capital to work in ocean-based businesses to both mitigate climate change and enhance the Blue Economy—but how? In this episode, we visit Running Tide in Portland, ME to see this concept […]
June 2022
Yes, although such investments are not for the faint of heart. As we have seen in 2022, both stocks and bonds have lost value as inflation expectations have escalated. The current environment favors building robustness into portfolios, and exposure to commodities—in addition to high quality bonds—could be a part of this, particularly for investors whose […]
May 2022