Most Recent News & Research

Analytics | Portfolio Risk Management
WatersTechnology Asia Awards 2022: Qontigo named Best Risk-Management Solution for Axioma Risk
“Increasing regulatory requirements has meant that validation and backtesting are even more critical to the investment process. The judges were most impressed with Qontigo’s Axioma Risk platform, which is supported by cloud-based technology and an API-first design and interactivity to continue meeting the needs of financial institutions,” said Wei-Shen Wong, Asia Editor of WatersTechnology.

Index | ESG & Sustainability
MIT Prof. Rigobon: Dealing with confusion and incongruity in the ‘ESG data zoo’
MIT Professor of Applied Economics Roberto Rigobon took the stage at the recent Qontigo Investment Intelligence Summit in New York to explain how inconsistencies in measurement, scope and priorities are leading to vast discrepancies in ESG ratings. To avoid confusion and mismanagement, he said, decision-makers must strive to understand what’s behind the data and carefully choose what best fits their goals.

Analytics | Index | Index / ETFs
Video: Qontigo’s Rob Reina on ETFs vs. Direct Indexing: What Does the Future Hold?
Direct Indexing has exploded in popularity and more financial advisors are incorporating it into client portfolios than ever before. Increased adoption, advances in technology and appreciation for the tax benefits of Direct Indexing will likely continue to accelerate its rapid growth. How will this impact the advisors’ perception and use of ETFs going forward? Qontigo’s Rob Reina, and other expert panelists addressed the pros and cons of each when constructing portfolios for your clients and offer in-depth analysis on their most appropriate applications.

Index | Thematic Investing
The future of school and play: STOXX Global Digital Entertainment and Education Index
The STOXX Global Digital Entertainment and Education Index captures the global digital transformation of entertainment and education – a long-term structural change. The individual characteristics of the stocks in this index are what set it apart: the Specific Return factor made the largest positive contribution to the seven-year return of all the indices in the study.

Index | Thematic Investing
iShares thematic ETF targets transformational move to digital in entertainment and education
The new fund tracks the STOXX Global Digital Entertainment and Education Index, one of the latest additions to the STOXX Thematic indices suite and to a growing partnership in innovative thematic solutions between Qontigo and BlackRock.

Index | Thematic Investing
STOXX Global Digital Entertainment and Education Index licensed for new iShares Thematic UCITS ETF
Qontigo has licensed the STOXX Global Digital Entertainment and Education Index to BlackRock as an underlying benchmark for an iShares ETF, the latest addition to a growing range of innovative thematic solutions available to European investors.

Analytics | Portfolio Risk Management
A thesis redux: The equity market downturn probably has more to go if history is any guide
Historically, bear markets have been rare. Since 1982 there have been five drawdowns of 20% or more (the ‘official’ bear market definition), including the current one, with a cycle of seven to 13 years in between each one. The present case is unusual, as it has only been two years since the last one.

Index | ESG & Sustainability
WTW: Why it is key to manage a portfolio’s climate-transition risk beyond carbon emissions
At the recent Qontigo Investment Intelligence Summit, WTW’s climate experts discussed how investors can better grasp a company’s climate-transition risk by looking forward to the future impact on its cash flows, rather than backwards at its carbon footprint.

A new Qontigo white paper analyzes the effect of changes in term spreads, or the difference between long- and short-term sovereign bond yields, on the performance of the iSTOXX Developed and Emerging Markets ex USA PK VN index. The findings show a rise in term spreads has, overall, helped returns for the global real estate index since 2019, but the relationship varies depending on regional exposure and period.

Term spreads have risen in multiple regions around the globe, as long-term sovereign yields soared amid rising (expected and actual) inflation but central banks took longer to raise short-term interest rates. The impact of this on international real estate has mostly been positive over the past two-and-a-half years.

Analytics | Portfolio Risk Management
Multi-Asset Class Risk Monitor Highlights | Week Ended June 24, 2022
Fed recession warning weighs on bond yields; Dollar stalls over lower interest-rate and economic growth expectations; Lower equity volatility partly reverses spike in portfolio risk.

Global Value’s winning streak rolls on; Asset diversification continues to plunge; Investors flock to US dollar’s safety.