News & Research

Conventional wisdom has it that higher interest rates make a currency more attractive to foreign investors, whereas a weaker exchange rate can be good news for export-oriented economies. Neither is true for the United Kingdom right now.

In a new research paper, we showcase how a portfolio manager can replicate fixed income indices using the Axioma Portfolio Optimizer and the new Axioma Credit Factor Model to create optimal US high- yield portfolios. In the workflow, we replicate a US high yield index with liquid bonds and a set of derivatives and test the solution from a risk perspective. The end goal is to create a set of portfolios that is more cost efficient, as (or more) liquid and as diversified as the index.  

Our stress tests generated in Axioma Risk indicate that further rate hikes could mean even more bad news for stocks and bonds alike, even if, or rather because, they help bring down anticipated consumer-price growth.

As part of the recently announced partnership between CEPRES and Qontigo, we are developing a suite of factor risk models that provide broad coverage of the private market space in Axioma Risk.

The ROOF portfolios use sector and style ROOF Scores to construct sentiment-tracking portfolios designed to capture the returns from the implementation of a bullish or bearish strategy. In a difficult first half of the year, aligning portfolios with the overall negative sentiment in the market generated significant outperformance relative to ‘holding’ the entire market or ignoring the average investor’s outlook.

The ROOF methodology can capture the ‘sentiment’ of a portfolio relative to its benchmark. We run ROOF scores to determine the risk appetite of investors holding four portfolios aligned with respective Sustainable Development Goals.

Courtney Scharff, Qontigo’s Global Head of Strategic Partnerships recently spoke with RepRisk’s CEO, Dr. Philipp Aeby to discuss the partnership. The conversation touched on how RepRisk differentiates its ESG data offerings through full transparency, the challenges of creating ESG data and how asset managers should think about ESG.

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.

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.

A new Qontigo white paper runs the numbers on the iSTOXX Developed and Emerging Markets ex USA PK VN, a global real estate index, to understand the relationship between expected inflation in the US, Europe and the UK, and index returns. The findings show that the sector has represented a good overall inflation hedge over the last couple of years, although regional and portfolio considerations can create exceptions.

The devil is in the details when it comes to performance attribution. Here we explain the differences between risk-based vs. Brinson attribution and how using equity risk models can help you understand your drivers of portfolio risk and return.

After two years of virtual gatherings, I’m thrilled to announce that the flagship Qontigo Investment Intelligence Summit will return in person this May. This year’s Summit, which we have called ‘Together in ’22,’ will take place in London on May 5 and in New York on May 19. The two events will offer insights on some of the most important […]