According to a global two-phase survey from Morningstar Indexes and Sustainalytics, asset owners are not, by and large, implementing ESG factors in their portfolios. The Voice of the Asset Owner survey asked 500 global asset owners in 11 countries their thoughts on ESG. Survey findings revealed that only 29% of asset owners reported that they consider ESG factors for at least half their holdings. The reason for the low figure was attributed to concern over the impact on returns, a lack of available products, and the reluctance of both clients and stakeholders. However, the survey also showed that 85% of asset owners believe ESG factors are material to investment policy, while 70% said that ESG factors have become more material over the past five years. Asset owners that participated in the survey included OCIOs, family offices and sovereign wealth funds, pension funds, and insurance providers. Two-thirds of the respondents noted that the quality of ESG data, indexes, ratings, and tools have improved. However, about half stated that data and ratings would stand to benefit from improvements in accuracy, timeliness, and greater objectivity.

Finsum: A recent survey revealed that while many asset owners believe ESG factors are material to investment policy, only 29% consider ESG factors for at least half their holdings.

Many investors are now adding private credit investments to their portfolios according to a global survey of institutional investors conducted by State Street Global Advisors. The survey report, The Future of Fixed Income, asked institutional investors how they view the fixed income market and how they’re allocating their investments amid the current market volatility. The findings were based on answers from 700 pension funds, endowments, foundations, and sovereign wealth funds, as well as wealth and asset managers. The results also found that investors have become more open to systematic fixed income strategies to help them fight the impact of rising prices and inflation. In addition, 51% of survey respondents stated their interest in increasing allocations to bank loans and 42% want to increase their allocation to inflation-linked bonds over the next 12 months. The findings also showed that investors are embracing index-tracking investments to gain efficient access to attractive sectors due to fee pressure and increased transparency. Over one-third of the respondents said that more than 20% of their fixed income portfolio is allocated to index strategies. The figure rises to 57% for investors with AUM over $10 billion.

Finsum: A survey conducted by SSGA noted that institutional investors are shifting their fixed income allocations amid the current market environment.

With, oh, say, Gilligan’s Island in its crosshairs, it hasn’t exactly been smooth sailing for proponents of investment strategies associated with environmental, social and governance data, according to law.com.

In fact, reems have been put to the old laptop revolving how Russia’s invasion of Ukraine culminated in geopolitical questions related to why Russia received ESG focused funds to begin with. Then what happened? Markets scram south and, in the process, a plethora of large ESG funds got hammered because, stemming from their massive holdings in tech stocks that took a beating, they registered losses worse than those absorbed by benchmarks.

McKinsey & Co. consultants, in a new paper, “Does ESG Really Matter—and Why,” go through a plethora of reasons ESG, of late, drew heavy duty criticism. At the end of day, the current turbulence surrounding its specific components aside. they concluded the underpinnings of ESGs and the adherence of “social licenser to them, way down the road, still will be integral to companies.

Meantime, mark the calendar, because a comeback’s on the docket. The Electronic Sports and Gaming Summit – or ESGs 2022 –  recently proclaimed that, in the upcoming event, Riot Games will be a Platinum Exhibitor, according to ungeek.ph.

The event will take place Oct. 28-30 at the SMX Convention Center at the Mall of Asia complex in Pasay City.

Riot Games, of course, is world renowned for delivering gamers the largest, most played esports titles. Eventually, it spawned a gaggle of related media.

Exchange traded funds are packing a considerable wallop in the construction of portfolios, according to a global survey on institutional investors on the fixed income market, reported pioonline.com.

They’re strutting an "expanded role in portfolio construction," as reflected by a recently released by survey sponsor State Street Global Advisors, survey sponsor.

Participating in the survey were 700 global institutional investors who oversee asset allocation decisions at pensions funds, wealth managers, asset managers, endowments, foundations and sovereign wealth funds. Administered by an independent firm unaffiliated with SSGA, the survey took place in the middle of the year.

"Our 2022 survey shows that the role of ETFs in asset allocation is expanding to non-core sectors," said the report, "The Role of ETFs in a New Fixed Income Landscape. We can see the increase in use, as compared to our 2021 fixed income survey." 

Meantime, in August, etf.com reported on the apparent hyper popularity of longer duration US Treasuries and investment grade corporate debt ETS among investors in Europe. That has come in the face of lingering doubt over escalating inflation and the reaction by the Fed.

Bloomberg Intelligence data was revealing: it showed fixed income yields attracted more than $4.2bn  over the past three months as of the time of reporting.

Skilled active management? The cocktail of ballooning inflation, interest rates and dispersion across fixed income sectors basically is giving managers the proverbial chance to strut their stuff, according to -wellington.com.

That’s why now might be an idyllic chance for investors to put their portfolios in a space to opportunistically position their portfolios.

Their individual fixed income markets have priced in the gulf in threats of recession and inflation in the euro area opposed to the U.S, the site continued. Dating back to the dawn of the Ukrainian invasion, compared to the U.S., credit spreads in the euro area have gotten wider.

This year, investor trepidations over fixed income performance have maintained their momentum, according to wellsfargo.com. Among top questions in the minds of income investors:

1. What is happening to bonds so far in 2022?

2. Why continue to invest in bonds?

3. Why is the Fed garnering so much attention this year?

4. What should investors expect from the remaining three Fed meetings of this year?

5. What does Fed quantitative tightening mean?

6. What do you mean when you say, “financial conditions in the economy are tightening”?

7. Should we be worried about liquidity in bond markets?

8. What is the shape of the U.S. Treasury yield curve telling us?

According to a new survey from advisory and accounting firm EisnerAmper, inflation is the largest business challenge for alternative investment managers. The annual survey was conducted during EisnerAmper’s 7th Annual Alternative Investment Summit. It revealed that almost three-quarters of alternative investment professionals believe the U.S. is already in a recession or will enter one by the end of the year. In addition to inflation, geopolitical concerns and escalating regulatory obligations were also named as top business challenges for alternative investors over the next year. Peter Cogan, Managing Partner of EisnerAmper’s Financial Services Group stated that “2021 has been a rollercoaster for alternative investment managers. The ongoing war in Ukraine, coupled with global records of inflation and poor public market performance have forced investors to be nimble in their investment philosophies. The Federal Reserve has made it clear that they’re steadfast in their mission to lower inflation and the survey shows that alternative investors expect this to be a long-term challenge to navigate.”

Finsum:According to a recent survey of alternative investment professionals, inflation, geopolitical concerns, and escalating regulatory obligations are the top business challenges for alternative firms.

According to a recent article on CNBC, market volatility is a big concern for clients right now. The author spoke to experts from CNBC’s Financial Advisor Council to see what advisors were discussing with their clients. According to the advisors, many clients, including retired investors and those that rely on savings, are especially worried about volatility in the market. The article quoted Carolyn McClanahan of Life Planning Partners in Florida, who stated that “The biggest concern for my clients is all of the uncertainty in the world. They wonder ‘what’s next and how that would affect the market — so it’s along the lines of fear of market volatility.” Investors are also fearful of large-scale job losses triggered by their memories of the Great Recession when unemployment peaked at 10% in October 2009. Home prices are another concern. While there are some signs that the housing market may be cooling down, a combination of rising mortgage rates and high prices are still causing concern for investors.

Finsum: Based on recent discussions with advisors, market volatility, job losses, and high home prices are huge concerns for clients right now.

Interest in directing indexing’s, well, titan

Direct indexing has drawn the attention of the titans of the asset management industry – and the reasons are obvious, according to wealthytrails.com.

Do tell.

Will do. There’s been a steady erosion of the fee management of mutual funds and exchange traded funds stemming from the escalation of ETFs themselves. Room is scant for addition products with more than 2,000 US ETFs and 5,000 US equity mutual funds, based exclusively on a universe of just 3,000 stocks. There’s a search for new revenue generating business areas by the industry. What’s more, interest by clients in customized portfolios, which is burgeoning, is on the radar.

Asset managers, shucking aside a commingled vehicle, execute direct indexing on the behalf of clients by assuming positions reflecting a representative samples of underlying index constituents, according to impactinvresting.com.

What does this approach yield? Customization, which abets flexibility. That includes pinpointing the index to track and exposures to circumvent -- or avoid – and potential tax advantages. That way. You can opt for the actual ingredients and directly call the underlying equities your own. Consequently, you don’t have to make purchases elsewhere.

--Are annuities the way to travel, or are you better off whipping out your trusty IPhone and beckoning a Uber?

--Questions…..questions. Okay, so, what are some of the trepidations surrounding annuities? 

--One factor, apparently, is inflexibility. It goes like this: with a fixed or fixed index annuity, your interest rate? Why, for the life of the contract, it’s locked in, according to annuityexpertadvice.com. Meaning? Well, if rates trek north, you’ll derive nothing stemming from a spike in returns. Conversely, if rates falter, you’re good because your investment’s shielded from receding.

--Then there’s the bugaboo of market fluctuations revolving around your investment that enters the equation with a variable annuity. With a drop in the stock market comes a decline in the value of your investment. 

--Meantime, customization also enters the picture. Risks most conceivably linked to annuities can be mitigated by the fact the annuities themselves are, by their nature, custom friendly, according to sophisticatedinvestor.com. A caveat, however: that features comes with the assumption you’re willing to fork out the cash for it.

Then there are annuity riders – provisions you invest in for annuities, the site continued. They rachet down the percentage of your annal annuity payout.

What are the fears of risks about an annuity?

With a fixed or fixed index annuity, your interest rate is locked in for the contract’s life. So if rates go up, you will not benefit from the higher returns. However, if rates go down, your investment is protected from declining.

With a variable annuity, your investment is subject to market fluctuations. If the stock market goes down, your investment value will also go down. ...

Are Annuities Good Or Bad? (2022) - The Annuity Expert

Pro: If You’re Looking for a Guaranteed Income Stream in Retirement, an Annuity Can Help

An annuity can be a good option if you’re looking for a guaranteed income stream in retirement. With an annuity, you make a lump sum payment upfront and then receive payments from the annuity provider for a set period of time, typically for the rest of your life. This can provide peace of mind knowing that you have a guaranteed income stream to cover your basic living expenses in retirement.

Con: Annuities Come with High Fees

One of the most significant drawbacks of annuities is that they come with high fees (typically variable annuities). These fees can eat away your investment returns, leaving you with less money than you started with. So be sure to review the fee structure of any annuity before investing carefully.

GeoWealth, a TAMP built for registered investment advisors, recently announced several upgrades to its platform that focuses on providing RIAs with more personalization in their investment management programs. This includes expanding its model marketplace by increasing its vetted manager menu by over 200 percent. Advisors that use GeoWealth’s platform have previously had the flexibility to build their own models, select third-party model portfolios, or combine the two through custom UMAs. GeoWealth has now enhanced the platform by onboarding SMAs and single asset class or "sleeve-level" strategies to be in the UMA allocations. The firm has also announced the launch of its internal Investment Consulting division and the release of its integrated Manager Portal module on the platform. The Portal will allow third-party managers and advisors managing portfolios, to communicate portfolio updates to the GeoWealth trading team for execution. Plus, the portal will also allow asset managers to load their collateral directly to the Model Center for easy access by advisors.

Finsum:GeoWealth recently announced that it upgraded its platform with the expansion of its model marketplace and release of an integrated Manager Portal.