News & Research

Lukas Smart, Head of US iShares Sustainable and Factors Product Segments, and Arun Singhal, Qontigo’s Global Head of Index Product Management, discuss the recent update to BlackRock’s multi-factor offering and the outlook for factor investing.

The funds track yen-hedged versions of the two European flagship benchmarks and come amid increasing Japanese demand for foreign assets.

“Counting molecules of carbon is the essential first step to tackling climate change, but it’s only the start,” says the director at WTW’s Climate and Resilience Hub. He explains why investors should focus on a company’s current climate-transition risk by understanding what the impact will be on its future cash flows.

This year has seen a steep slowdown in net purchases of global ESG funds, but inflows remain positive. Broader funds, meanwhile, registered USD 139 billion in net outflows in the first six months of 2022, according to Morningstar data.

Futures and options enable investors to take directional views and hedge portfolios as markets pull back and price swings increase this year.

A new white paper from Qontigo analyzes the components of a multi-factor alpha forecast in a universe of US stocks. The alpha has enhanced market returns over the last 20 years, with 2021 showing the best annual results.

We examine the composition and profile of the STOXX Global Digital Entertainment and Education Index, a thematic index that underlies a new iShares ETF, for investors interested in understanding the portfolio’s composition and drivers of returns.

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.

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.

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.

Changes were announced as part of the June regular review for the DAX 50 ESG, DAX ESG Target and DAX indices.