Management

BlackRock has launched the BlackRock Global Funds (BGF) Dynamic High Income Fund (the Fund), which seeks to broaden income sources for investors at a time when finding attractive traditional income has been a challenging task.

Two-thirds of institutional investors worldwide (65%) expect asset bubbles to negatively impact performance in 2018 and three out of every four (75%) believe the current market environment favors active management.

Corporates and households seem to have regained their confidence in the future in 2017 against a flattering macroeconomic backdrop. However, Natixis Asset Management’s experts caution against excessive optimism, as 2018 will not be entirely devoid of events that could throw a spanner in these well-oiled works.

According to David F. Lafferty, CFA®, Senior Vice President – Chief Market Strategist at NGAM, the pressures exerted by passive indexing are forcing active managers to tackle longstanding sources of inefficiency and underperformance. By setting more appropriate fees and weeding out closet indexers, active strategies should rise in the competitive rankings.

We see a reduced near-term risk of trade wars, as President Donald Trump’s White House appears to have softened its stance toward both the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and China. This could benefit emerging markets (EMs).