The words benchmark and index are often used as synonyms in the financial language. Generally speaking, this seems to be right, but there are some differences between an index and a benchmark that every investor needs to know, since a benchmark is not necessarily the same as an index. An index, especially for securities markets, is a key figure that expresses the development of the prices for the respective securities over time. With regard to this, it indicates the basic trend in a capital market. This means an index serves as an indicator of the state of a market or

The demand for better information about sustainability-related matters which would enable investors to factor in sustainability-related risks and opportunities in their assessment of enterprise value is increasing globally. At the same time, there is no standard for the disclosure of non-financial information, which means that a number of metrics and measures used by companies are not comparable. The same is true for data vendors and Rating agencies. As a reaction to this lack of transparency, the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) was launched during the COP26 summit in Glasgow on November 3, 2021, to meet this demand. The idea of

After being postponed due to Covid-19, the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference, also known as COP26, is now being held in Glasgow, Scotland. In alignment with the conference, many corporations have committed to reducing their greenhouse gas emissions usage by adding long-term net zero goals on their ESG (environmental, social, governance) websites and claiming they are less environmentally damaging. To analyze the claims of consumer-product companies, we’ve pulled ESG data from Eikon. Methodology ESG scores from Refinitiv are designed to measure transparently and objectively a company’s relative ESG performance, commitment and effectiveness across 10 main themes (emissions, environmental product

Shipping costs have soared over the last 18 months as bottlenecks in supply chains and increased consumer demand have put a strain on the shipping and logistics industry.  Adding further pressure is the fact that ships have been backlogged and sitting idle at various ports for months.  This will reduce the number of freight containers available which puts further pressure on freight prices. Using Refinitiv Eikon Workspace, we can look deeper into congestion levels at any port using the Interactive Map tool.  Specifically, we look at the Port of Los Angeles and Port of Long Beach, two of the most

A number of market observers, including myself, have stated that ETFs have written a true success story over the last two decades and are set to continue this in the future. Even as this seems to be somewhat intuitive, these statements often miss a rationale why the trend toward ETFs will continue. Within this article, I want to shed a light on changes in consumer behavior as a driver for the growth of ETFs, since the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the behavior and expectations of consumers. Even as I was always positive for the future of ETFs, I think that

It’s fair to say that 2020 was a year like no investor has experienced before, even looking back to the Great Depression or World Wars I and II. The year began with fears of a possible war between North Korea and the U.S., an upcoming trade war between the U.S. and China, and a possible hard Brexit. In a normal year, these geopolitical tensions would have put enough pressure on the markets to cause a major downturn. But in mid-February, the coronavirus, which had previously been seen as a local problem in China, was detected in an increasing number of

In line with the general global trend regarding fund flows, the South African fund industry enjoyed estimated net inflows of $71 bn over the course of the first nine months of 2020. These inflows were kind of a surprise since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic and the global lockdowns of economies led to a massive drawdown on the equity markets during Q1 2020. This was countered, however, by very large cushioning packages of governments and quantitative easing programs of central banks around the globe. Nevertheless, the first nine months of 2020 was a tough time for the South African

In line with the general global trend regarding fund flows, the South African fund industry enjoyed estimated net inflows of $4.3 bn over the course of the first half of 2020. These inflows were kind of a surprise since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic and the global lockdowns of economies led to a massive drawdown on the equity markets during Q1 2020. This was countered, however, by very large cushioning packages of governments and quantitative easing programs of central banks around the globe. Nevertheless, the first half of 2020 was a tough time for the South African fund industry

Property and real estate investments are in general considered as safe-haven investments because bricks and mortar are real assets which can survive a storm in the equity markets. This claim can be considered as true if an investor invests directly into property. But as fund managers try to optimize the return for their investors, this might not be true for direct property funds and real estate investment trust (REIT) funds investing in commercial properties in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. Under current economic conditions, the optimization of returns— especially the use of leverage (debt capital)—may cause a problem for

The South African fund industry enjoyed estimated net inflows of $9 bn over the course of 2019. These inflows were way above the flows for 2018 ($3 bn) and occurred in a positive market environment with an increased volatility driven by discussions about a possible trade war between the U.S. and China, a possible return of the euro crisis caused by developments in Italy and France, and a general economic slowdown with decreasing earnings at the company level. Nevertheless, since the equity markets showed a very strong rebound over the course of 2019, one would expect to see net inflows

What’s priced in is a question being asked a lot these days. How much of this current and future bad news is now fully reflected in stock prices? Is it time to start bargain shopping? It would be a fool’s errand to answer these questions with so much uncertainty facing markets. However, we can share with you a tool that can help look at current growth rates now priced in. To do this, we turn to the StarMine Intrinsic Valuation model. Used conventionally, this is a three-stage Dividend Discount Model that uses sell-side estimates for individual equities, adjusts those according

On Sept. 1, 1859, astronomer Richard Carrington observed what turned out to be a coronal mass ejection from the sun, which released a significant amount of plasma into the solar wind. The resulting geomagnetic storm, known as the Carrington Event, was so severe that when it reached Earth it knocked out large chunks of the global telegraph communications system. The economist William Stanley Jevons thought that sunspots were the causes of business cycles, which can be understood as an early exposition of real business cycle theory. Jevons didn’t think that an economy could become unstable by itself and could only