Insights

Despite the COVID-19 gloom, and well against most expectations earlier in the year, market-level investment returns in 2020 offered a positive alternative universe.

Energy has been the worst performing sector in MSCI EAFE this year. So why do we believe there is long-term value in this sector?

Growth-oriented investments in equity markets have significantly outperformed value since the financial crisis.

Twelve months ago, most market observers assumed that further economic recovery and the threat of modestly higher inflation would prompt further tightening from central banks on a path to post-crisis monetary normalization.

Despite double-digit gains for the MSCI World index, geopolitical gloom, notably trade wars and Brexit, hangs over investors, economies and the share prices of more economically-sensitive companies.

Amidst increasing concern over deteriorating economic growth, geo-political uncertainty and the prospects of tightening monetary policy, global equity and credit markets threw a temper tantrum towards the end of 2018. 

COVID caused a seismic shock in countries across the world, leading to steep declines in global markets. Today, there remain significant mispricing opportunities and we believe the skew is clearly in favor of defensive, value investing.

The past decade has been a challenging period for value investors: record low interest rates and structural changes in the economy have caused investors to shun value stocks in favor of growth stocks.

Clive Gillmore, Group CIO and CEO recently joined a panel of experts to discuss geographical opportunities, long term ESG potential, and the impact of trade wars on global markets.

As a long-term value manager Mondrian Investment Partners has always believed in carrying out analysis which captures all potential material risks and opportunities; understanding and integrating the impacts of ESG factors has therefore consistently been part of our long-term modeling.

The COVID-19 crisis of 2020 was not a systemic crisis. The scale and speed of fiscal and monetary stimulus led by the US Federal Reserve drove global markets to bounce, registering strong gains for the full year.

This paper sets out the relevance of international small cap investment in a post Covid-19 world.

As a long-term value manager Mondrian Investment Partners has always believed in carrying out analysis which captures all potential material risks and opportunities; understanding and integrating the impacts of ESG factors has therefore consistently been part of our long-term modeling.

Although there has been much debate about what this stimulus means for inflation, our forecasts have only risen modestly. Inflation prints will almost inevitably step up during the course of …

A green bond is one whose proceeds are directed exclusively to financing projects that have a positive environmental impact. However there is still no one widely accepted definition of what constitutes green.

The US dollar is extremely overvalued and if history is any guide it is poised for a substantial multi-year fall. According to our Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) valuations, it is now overvalued against every major currency in the world.

  Halfway through 2020, the world remains in the grip of a global pandemic, an economic shock of unprecedented scope and magnitude. Investors’ initial response was a flight to safety. …

Managed appropriately, high quality global developed market fixed income offers investors enhanced yield, downside protection and diversification beyond their home market.

Mondrian’s Global Fixed Income and Currency Team explains how our investment process has been able to produce the consistent returns and why they expect to be able to continue doing so.

There are a myriad of lessons to learn from 2020, but from an investor’s perspective, the pandemic highlighted the need for us to be adaptable, open minded and flexible.

Since the Global Financial Crisis (“GFC”) in 2008, the composition of the emerging market (“EM”) equity index has been through considerable change.

After the MSCI Emerging Markets Index (“Index”) fell 15% in 2018, the Index bounced back in 2019 posting an 18.4% rise.

Rather than use ESG in isolation as a screening tool, Mondrian believes it is better used as a risk factor which can be priced along with other credit risk factors and demand a higher return on capital to compensate us for additional ESG risk.

Value has somewhat different meanings depending on one’s specific interpretation. We thought it would be interesting to further expand, and give our explanation of Mondrian’s emerging market portfolio value credentials by looking through a few different lenses.

At the African National Congress (ANC) election in December 2017, Cyril Ramaphosa was elected as the new leader of the party, replacing the ineffective and corrupt incumbent Jacob Zuma. Pure relief at a change of leader led to such exuberance in financial markets that the phrase ‘Ramaphoria’ was coined.