Forward-Looking Research from August

Where markets and economies are heading next

This collection of insights provides investors with some of the most interesting forward-looking research we have seen during August. Some of the key issues covered below include ESG, Bitcoin (this theme has fallen off the radar of investors lately - but remains pertinent), and the pensions landscape.

The Financial Impact Of Diversity And Culture (Impax Asset Management)

Positive correlations between diversity – particularly gender diversity in executive teams – and company financial performance are increasingly present in the literature reviewed here.

Tracking The Low-carbon Transition (BlackRock)

For compliance reasons, this paper is only accessible in the United States and Canada

The transition to a low-carbon economy is among a handful of major structural shifts that are rewiring economies, sectors and businesses.

The Significance of Short Selling (Coinbase Institutional)

When you short a digital asset, you borrow the tokens from a third party and promptly sell those tokens into the open market.

Stars are Aligning for Uranium and Nuclear Energy (Sprott AM)

Uranium mining equities posted positive results in July, rising 2.75%. This marks the second consecutive month of outperformance of uranium mining equities over physical uranium.

The Geopolitics of Water in the Middle East (Arab News)

Across the Middle East, the importance of water and its associated logistics is reflected by how often water-related infrastructure is targeted by terrorist groups.

Thailand’s Clean Electricity Transition (IEA)

The Thai government has announced a planned update to the Power Development Plan, in the frame of the broader new National Energy Plan.

Building on Bitcoin (Fidelity Digital Assets)

A key question is why Bitcoin does not increase its block size—would that solve the scalability problem? Not necessarily.

Pension Markets in Focus: Preliminary Report (OECD)

After a strong performance in 2021, assets earmarked for retirement fell in 2022 in most OECD countries. Is this a sign of a global retirement crisis?

Flight to Safety in the Regional Bank Crisis of 2023 (Alpha Architect)

Using weekly confidential data from U.S. banks, the authors document an unprecedented flight to safety of deposits from regional banks towards large banks in the early 2023.

SPECIAL REPORT

Portfolio Positioning in a Shifting Environment (Wellington Management)

The impact of inflation and interest rates are just a couple of the factors assessed in this report which aims to enable allocators stay on top of a changing market regime. Where should investment be directed to not only respond to change but to make the most of it? Read this Special Report to find out more.