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Latest Emerging Market Viewpoints
From Matt Linsey and the North of South Capital team

The last two occasions when the Chinese authorities decided to stimulate their economy, the result was a substantial increase in the prices for most commodities. This was particularly the case in 2009 in wake of the global financial crisis. Although the stimulus in 2015-16 was quite a bit smaller, it also had a very favourable impact on the price of commodities. 

Latest G10 Macro Rates Blog
With Shayne Dunlap, Co-Portfolio Manager

Is this the direction for western economic policy of the near future?
New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has recently announced a new budget policy called the “Wellbeing Budget”. It sets five priorities focusing on living standards involving human, social and natural capital. 

Latest Emerging Market Viewpoints
From Matt Linsey and the North of South Capital team

Are Emerging Market equities becoming less risky in relation to developed markets? If one were to look purely at debt to GDP ratios, savings ratios, political stability and the level of domestic interest rates a fairly strong case could be made that our asset class looks as good, or better in a number of cases, than the U.S., Japan and Europe. 

Will Bartleet, CIO and Portfolio Manager of Pacific Multi-Asset
Market commentary, portfolio positioning and outlook

After nearly a decade of a mostly uninterrupted rise in equity markets, the final months of 2018 saw a sharp pick up in volatility and a decline in stock markets around the world. Headwinds for the markets have been building over the last few months: central banks have persisted with interest rate increases and ended their QE programmes, uncertainty surrounding Brexit has continued, the trade war between the US and China has intensified and global growth has slowed.  

November Webcast Replay
With the PAM Investment Management Teams

With the current market environment causing uncertainty and testing investors’ nerves, Pacific Asset Management invited clients to listen and take part in the Pacific Weekly Investment Meeting. Matthew Lamb (CEO), was joined by Will Bartleet CIO / Portfolio Manager of Pacific’s range of multi-asset solutions and by our Emerging Markets and G10 Macro rates fund teams. 

Latest Emerging Market Viewpoints
From Matt Linsey and the North of South Capital team

As 2018 draws to a close it is easy to forget that Emerging Markets were outperforming their developed counterparts only last year. This has now largely been reversed and brings us back to where we were in 2016 in relative terms. The MSCI Emerging market index remains at least 30% cheaper than the S&P on most measures. 

Pacific Asset Management was recently invited by The Investment Association (IA) to produce a short film with ITN for the ‘Building Trust and Delivering Value’ series.  The film highlights the effects of the industrialisation of the Asset Management industry and is being launched at The IA's Stewardship and Governance Conference on the 22nd November 2018. 

Latest G10 Macro Rates Blog
With Shayne Dunlap, Co-Portfolio Manager

One of the biggest side effects of $14 trn of QE/Balance sheet expansion by the Fed/BoE/ECB and BoJ since the GFC, has been asset price inflation. This has created immense wealth for the lucky people who were long assets in various forms, such as housing or equities. Invariably this has increased the wealth divide to extreme levels and a generation of asset winners who believe it was their investing genius that acquired this wealth, when largely it was just a by-product of public policy. Not only those lucky individuals, but a large proportion of the investment industry may have fallen for the same self-deception. The fact is the lowering of central bank rates on inflation targeting and QE programs, has allowed the UST 10Y (and many other key government bonds) to rally since 1981. 

Latest Emerging Market Viewpoints
From Matt Linsey and the North of South Capital team

Taiwan remains one of our favourite markets. It enjoys the lowest cost of capital in the emerging market universe and has a large number of companies with net cash on the balance sheet. Many of these stocks pay dividend yields in excess of 5.0% and are often majority controlled by their management. 

Latest G10 Macro Rates Blog
With Shayne Dunlap, Co-Portfolio Manager 

In the dark days of WW2, Churchill was presented with the proposal of cutting funding for the arts. His reply was, “Then what are we fighting for?” That was about the Arts, but what about education? For some decades now, we have been effectively taxing education. Is Education meant to be capitalist? Or is it meant to be about what we are as a society - striving for a constantly better future? Leaving this debate hanging, let’s look at the economic effect and ask.