Equities

In 2000, Candriam took an audacious gamble : to invest in biotechnology, a field that was still little-followed by analysts at the time.

Global manufacturers are navigating a highly challenging environment marked by tariffs, trade conflicts and new alliances, supply chain disruptions, and rising geopolitical tensions.

According to the Institute for Economics & Peace, there are 56 active conflicts in the world, the greatest number since the end of World War II. Increasingly complex geopolitics and ReArm Europe are keeping investors on our toes, analytically.

Since the US presidential elections, US equities have been on an uptrend driven by a certain optimism, as the expectation of tax cuts and deregulation have fuelled the hope of accelerated corporate earnings growth.

Chinese authorities have begun addressing deflationary pressures through a series of monetary and fiscal measures, signaling their growing urgency to stabilise the economy.

With young populations, technological innovation and a focus on sustainability, emerging markets excluding China may offer a lower-risk alternative and better diversification for those investors seeking growth.

After a correction of 25% between November 2021 and October 2023, European small caps are now trading at lower valuations than large caps, both in terms of discounted cash flows and earnings multiples, which is a historical anomaly.

On April 13, Iran decided to strike Israel with 300 drones and missiles following an attack on its diplomatic compound in Syria. Regional escalation and oil price are at risk. This tail risk cannot be ignored. We are closely monitoring the unfolding situation.

Japanese equities have enjoyed a positive run since the start of the year (+20.8% performance to 27 Mar 2024 ), with the Nikkei recently hitting all-time highs, surpassing the peak of the 1989 bubble .

The impact of the 2024 elections on the decarbonization theme is of paramount importance, considering that the year marks a significant electoral period globally with 64 countries and the European Union - representing nearly half of the global population - heading to the polls.

Will the central banks of developed countries succeed in their bid to bring inflation back to their 2% target by the end of 2024... without triggering a recession? Can China still avoid deflation? After a few months of calm, aren't rising oil and agricultural prices likely to further complicate the task of central banks?

It's back-to-school time, and time for investment decisions... Will the US fall into recession?

As we reach the halfway point of the year, it seems that recession may be avoided on both sides of the Atlantic, but growth forecasts remain weak...

With the upcoming 2023 Turkish presidential election, scheduled to take place on 14 May, we are sharing our views and sentiments on the possible outcomes and their consequences.

The Metaverse. The substitution of reality with the imagined – transporting the participant literally into a whole new world – will become possible for all kinds of products and services.

Portfolios managed by Candriam have no exposure to any Credit Suisse security, OTC exposure or stock-lending exposure.

The year of 2022 proved to be one of the most challenging and volatile for emerging market (EM) equities.

And we would rather not have to go through this – which would mean we won the battle and cancer is curable.

Despite a fairly significant rally beginning in October, European equity markets, battered by major outflows since the start of the crisis in Ukraine, recorded a correction over the year 2022 (-9.5%). Although European equities finished the year on a relative outperformance compared with the United States (-13.4%) and emerging markets (-15.1%)1, the year was still a source of concern for investors, who are now asking questions about what may arise in 2023.

25 years of experience in ESG, 25 years of experience in Emerging Markets Equities, and over 15 years of putting it all together. Doubling the Drivers of Performance : Historically, Emerging Markets have been the drivers of global growth. Times are changing - deglobalisation is the new trend – but EMs still are responsible for more than half of our global economic growth.

Since the beginning of the year, the European market – like its peers - has suffered a severe correction. Market participants are watching out for the low point, the green light that will allow the market to reposition itself for the long term.

As expected, the rise in long yields has speared a strong style rotation – see our article published in November 2021. Investor appetite for value stocks, coupled with significant profit-taking on growth stocks, has led to “value” companies outperforming their “growth” peers by almost 12% in January 2022So where are we now? And is “value” becoming “overvalued”?