China recently unveiled its 14th five-year plan (FYP) to guide the country’s economic development over the coming five years, along with the blueprint for a long-term strategy that outlines its vision for 2035.
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Popular Delusions – In Manic Markets, Pied Pipers Call The Tune
In these increasingly exuberant financial markets awash with excess liquidity, flows threaten to dominate fundamentals in the accelerated pursuit of investment returns.

DC Investment: Always ask questions, just make sure they’re the right ones!
by Ian Slattery
There is often a conversation about investment styles in respect to a default strategy, and in my view, you can add value in three overarching ways

The Return of Inflation
Inflation is not dead. It is not gone. It has not been tamed. We know it seems like it, especially after the past few decades which generated in many an “inflation-complacency” that feels justified

The EU-UK Trade Deal Leaves Open Questions
While the trade deal agreed between the two sides provides clarity in some areas, a great deal of uncertainty remains about what Brexit will mean in practice.

Central Bank Digital Currencies are coming
Recent announcements have put a spotlight on the Central Bank Digital Currency development programmes of major central banks, although stages of advancement vary significantly.

The history and future of Ireland in Europe
by Cormac Lucey
Before 1916, nationalists in Ireland had sought to craft a better future for themselves within the United Kingdom (of Great Britain and Ireland, as it was then). After 1916, independence was the goal. And, after independence was secured a century ago, Ireland consistently availed of every opportunity to further loosen its bonds with Britain.

Mind the gap: impact investing through public markets
With a deadline of 2030, the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a comprehensive list of challenges, both environmental and socioeconomic, that we face as a planet.

The Limitations of a Financial Advisor
by David Lunn
There are too many vested interests in maintaining the status quo. If the system worked perfectly for the consumer there would be no need to regulate and hence a much smaller role for regulators.

Europe’s “Man on the Moon” moments
The European equity market was one of the worst-performing in 2020 amid the ravages of COVID-19, with many stocks also subject to dividend limitations. However, as we move through 2021, we believe Europe should see the benefits of a V-shaped economic recovery as the dissemination of a vaccine will benefit all economies.

Global outlook: Recovery versus Stagnation
Investment outlooks often fail to survive first contact with reality but it remains useful to have a starting framework which can be adapted over time.

Why listed private equity is worth a look
Much has been written about alternative asset classes over the past decade, and it’s easy to see why. With bond yields at all-time lows, interest rates either near zero or negative, and equity market returns expected to be lower in the years ahead, investors have been seeking alternative asset classes that can deliver attractive returns.