The investment landscape is marked by persistent macroeconomic uncertainties, uneven growth, and heightened geopolitical risks. Despite attractive earnings growth, healthcare has also been under pressure due to regulatory restructuring, drug pricing debates, budget constraints, and tariff concerns.

The global rates landscape is entering a decisive new phase as the long-standing flatness of yield curves gives way to steepness that has not been seen since 2011. The term premium, the additional interest by bondholders investing in longer-dated bonds versus short-term bonds, is back after an absence of many years.

Manufacturing and services PMIs will offer a first look at September’s global activity. With the Fed easing and China’s economy stabilizing, any uptick could reinforce the reflation narrative and support risk assets.

We promised you transparency. For a comprehensive discussion of our efforts and results, see our [annual] Net Zero Progress Report 2024. We frequently say that it is not just the carbon target, but the path to that target which affects the damage along the way. In this spirit, we share with you along the way our milestones for the four pillars of our Net Zero strategy.

If some elements of our annual 2024 Annual Engagement and Voting Review sound familiar, that’s no coincidence. To maximize our impact, we focus on long-term core topics. Engagement and voting are central to our investment process, extending beyond the important responsibility of the investments we already hold.

The Federal Reserve is expected to cut its funds rate after having observed a pause since December 2024.

On rates markets, August and the first week of September were marked by a noticeable de-correlation on both sides of the Atlantic. While Euro rates moved sideways, Treasury yields declined significantly, especially at the short end of the curve. This shift and steepening of the curve reflects a weakening labour market, accelerating Fed rate cut expectations.

Activity paused leading up to the Jackson Hole Economic Symposium, where a potential pivot in Federal Reserve policy was revealed by Chairman Jerome Powell, hinting at a possible easing cycle.