Healthy skepticism
Selecting environmental, social, and governance (ESG) funds is a way that ordinary citizens can invest in an ethical way. But what does the increased interest in ESG investing shown by institutional and private wealth clients really mean? Is it paying off? Are we at a watershed moment for structural change in the way investors allocate resources? The move to consider ESG investing came some years ago with scandals such as Enron, and continues with more scandals such as Volkswagen’s Dieselgate and Facebook’s meddlings, said Pedro Matos, a professor of finance at University of Virginia and the author of the CFA […]
Impact of Covid-19: Economics
How is the world grappling with the Covid-19 Pandemic, especially in the realm of economics? The magazine the Economist presented a webinar on July 30, 2020, titled “The Inside Story: The Impact of Covid-19.” Helen Joyce, executive editor for events at the Economist, interviewed a science writer and an economics editor. This is part two of a two-part summary of that webinar. The second panellist was Henry Cur, an economics editor. He said the economic crisis precipitated by the pandemic is markedly different from “garden variety recessions.” “The scale of unemployment is greater than the 2008 downturn,” he said, “and […]
Impact of Covid-19: Science
How is the world grappling with the Covid-19 Pandemic, especially in the realm of science? Much is happening and the world is hungry for information on these fronts, was the consensus of the panel convened by the magazine the Economist, which presented a webinar on July 30, 2020, titled “The Inside Story: The Impact of Covid-19.” Helen Joyce, executive editor for events at the Economist, interviewed two staffpersons, working on different aspects of the pandemic. She also ran a Q & A session with an audience of thousands via the Zoom platform. This is part one of a two-part summary. […]
Quality in the time of Covid
There’s a wide range of “quality factor” investing out there. How can the investor distinguish between the variety of methods? More importantly, how can the investor select the best factor method for given economic conditions? To answer this question, a recent paper compared the variety of methods, and examined how each method performed under different market conditions. The paper, “What is Quality?”, by Jason Hsu, Vitali Kalesnik, and Engin Kose, won the Graham & Dodd 2020 award for the best paper published in the Financial Analysts Journal in 2019. To celebrate the achievement, the journal invited the authors of the […]
Private Equity in “the new normal”
From pandemic to protectionism, global events and trends are having an impact on the private equity (PE) markets. From a Canadian perspective, what effect are these issues having on the alignment between PE investors and PE fund managers? In Toronto on July 9, 2020, Helen Pham welcomed three panellists to the webinar titled, “Private Market Trends: Improving Alignment Between Investors and Managers.” The webinar was organized by the institutional asset management committee of the CFA Society Toronto. The panellists shared their thoughts on how investors should view effects of the global pandemic on private equity markets and the associated risks […]
New World Order 2
From state-owned enterprises to the Covid-19 pandemic, issues in China affect the Canadian investment environment and capital flow decisions. Given China’s ascendance in the global economy, what is the best strategy to ride the wave upward, too? What are potential danger areas? The following is the second half of a report on the webinar “New World Order: How China’s Rising Affects Investment Strategy” held on June 15, 2020, and sponsored by the CFA Society Toronto. Three panellists were interviewed by Tanya Lai, Managing Director, Public Equities, of the Investment Management Company of Ontario (IMCO). Lai noted there was increased scrutiny […]
New World Order 1
From trade wars to 5G technology, issues in China are having an impact on the Canadian investment environment and capital flow decisions. What effect will China’s ascendance have on the global economy? What is the best strategy to ride the wave upward? What are potential danger areas? On June 15, 2020, Herbert Zhang, the chair of the institutional asset management committee of the CFA Society Toronto, welcomed three panellists at the webinar titled, “New World Order: How China’s Rising Affects Investment Strategy.” The panellists shared their thoughts on how investors should view US-China trade tensions and deal with the associated […]
Inside Story, South America
How are different parts of the world reacting to the Covid-19 Pandemic, and how does that affect those who must analyze and report on global geopolitical risk? The magazine The Economist presented a webinar on May 28, 2020, titled “Inside Story: Reporting on the Covid-19 Pandemic Around the World.” Helen Joyce, executive editor for events at The Economist, interviewed two outstanding foreign correspondents. This is part two of a two-part summary. The second panellist was Sarah Maslin, foreign correspondent for The Economist, South America. She spoke from her home in São Paulo, which is decorated with scarves from soccer teams […]
Inside Story, Southeast Asia
How are different parts of the world reacting to the Covid-19 Pandemic, and how does that affect those who must analyze and report on global geopolitical risk? Much depends on having a strong and trusted network of contacts, was the consensus of the panel convened by the magazine The Economist, which presented a webinar on May 28, 2020, titled “Inside Story: Reporting on the Covid-19 Pandemic Around the World.” Helen Joyce, executive editor for events at The Economist, interviewed two outstanding foreign correspondents, from vastly different parts of the world. She also ran a Q & A session with an […]
“Disasters Everywhere”
What is the cost of a disaster? What is the cost of the business cycle? Economically speaking, how do business cycles compare with disasters? The cost of business cycles and the gain to be had from stabilization policy is a highly controversial topic in macroeconomics. Some believe the welfare gains from stabilizing the business cycle are extremely low and therefore not worth the effort. “Depression prevention and stabilization policies are central to the discipline of macroeconomics,” conclude the authors of recent research published by the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. “Extreme and costly events are not the only reason […]