In this episode we explore the disproportionate impact of modern slavery on women and girls and what investors can do about the issue.

Demand for data storage and processing, accelerated by online meetings and AI advancements, is driving the growth of the data centre industry which requires significant cooling.  Industrial cooling consumes large quantities of water and energy, releasing carbon emissions and waste heat. Efficient cooling solutions are essential for achieving carbon reduction targets and complying with tightening reporting requirements.

Chinese equities are trading at mouth-watering attractive levels. In our view, the outlook is highly prospective for long term investors. As highlighted in our early January 2024 insights, we believe the issues facing the Chinese economy are well known and manageable! Many new policies and initiatives are being introduced to support and stimulate the economy. The economy will find its footing in 2024. Contrary to numerous pessimistic headlines, the Chinese economy is set to expand between 4.5% to low 5% range in 2024.

Over the past five years, bond markets have witnessed remarkable transformations, reshaping the investment landscape. From a pandemic to growing global macro-economic pressures, the role of fixed income in portfolio construction remains important. To maximise the benefits of bonds for today’s investor, it is crucial to understand what has driven this market evolution and where to next.

Three-quarters of energy used in industry is converted into heat and over half of total energy used is lost as waste heat. Industrial heating is largely powered by non-renewable resources; producers attempting to achieve carbon reduction targets are looking for alternative, sustainable solutions for generating process heat and recovering energy wasted as heat.

Welcome to 2024, the Year of the Dragon in the Chinese Zodiac. We believe the fundamentals are in place for emerging markets (EM) to outperform developed economies (DM) in the coming year. Many EM central banks, with a few exceptions, were first to react to combat inflation by shifting monetary policy and tighten financial conditions. As a result, many EMs were the first economies to loosen monetary policies in 2023 which will support growth in 2024.

Ardea Investment Management is a specialist relative value investor, focusing on non-directional opportunities within the global fixed income market. Unlike more traditional fixed income mangers, our investment process seeks to identify and exploit mispricing between assets with similar risk characteristics and does not rely on forecasts for the direction of interest rates or other macroeconomic variables to generate performance.

“In a world that is constantly changing, there is no one subject or set of subjects that will serve you for the foreseeable future, let alone for the rest of your life.” So said the American author, John Naisbitt, whose analysis of social trends led to predictions regarding automation in the workplace, globalisation and even the rise of artificial intelligence.

Pressure to meet environmental metrics and reporting requirements has increased for institutional investors. Investing in natural capital offers a direct pathway for creating a positive environmental impact. However, the risk and return profile for these investments is still uncertain; many are sceptical of strategies that rely heavily on under-developed nature-based credit markets that qualify public good and negative externalities, i.e. biodiversity and carbon, as tradable units. Investing in sustainable infrastructure assets provides the benefits associated with investing in nature without the risks. Read more to find out how to create a positive environmental impact with the comfort of investing in a traditional asset class.