Blog posts

The STOXX Global 1800 index fell 2.6% in dollars last month, with only basic-resources and energy companies posting a positive return among 20 sectors. Climate indices struggle to match benchmark returns, while factor, dividend and minimum-variance strategies outperform.

European and emerging-markets shares took the biggest hit following the start of military action against Ukraine, with the STOXX Europe 600 Index paring its outperformance to the STOXX USA 900 Index for the year. Energy and mining stocks have fared the best this year as concerns about supply disruptions have lifted the price of commodities.

The iSTOXX® USA Ocean Care 40 Index follows on the success of the EURO iSTOXX® Ocean Care 40 Index and tracks companies whose operations and programs are helping stem the degradation of the world’s water bodies, marine ecosystems and the environment.

The futures’ price and trading volume have jumped this year. If the French presidential elections this April were to trigger market volatility as did the vote five years ago, activity in VSTOXX futures could pick up further in coming weeks.

The STOXX Global 1800 index fell 5.5% in dollars and 4.1% in euros last month, the worst January since 2016, as investors assessed the potential impact of interest-rate hikes by the Federal Reserve. US, Momentum and Quality shares led losses, while dividend and Value stocks appeared as relative winners.

Designed to facilitate equity financing, Eurex is introducing new equity total return futures (ETRFs) that replicate popular OTC equity swaps and incorporate the benefits of an exchange-listed product. Stuart Heath from Eurex explains what advantages ETRFs bring to banks and investors, and describes the role of indices in creating the new contracts.

It appears onerous and sometimes confusing, but the European Union’s Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) aims to enhance and protect participation in sustainable investments — a cause well worth the trouble.

Aligning portfolios with the UN Sustainable Development Goals is a fast-growing segment of responsible investing (RI), one with a different profile and outcome to ESG or climate considerations. A recent webinar explored how investors can employ the SDGs for portfolio management, index construction, reporting and more, using the Sustainable Development Investments Asset Owner Platform (SDI AOP).

We talk to Paul Lacroix, Ossiam’s Head of Structuring, about the switch of index underlying the Ossiam STOXX® Europe 600 Equal Weight NR ETF, and why an equal-weighted ESG strategy can boost both the ESG profile and price returns of a portfolio.

The exchange-traded fund started trading on the Korean Stock Exchange on December 22 and provides domestic investors direct exposure to Europe’s biggest economy and a means of geographic and industry diversification.

Fund issuers seeking to design sustainable-investment products to be distributed across European markets face an uphill struggle because of widely diverging national and regional frameworks. A new Qontigo whitepaper highlights the intricacy of Europe’s ESG labeling landscape and provides some recommendations that may help overcome its pitfalls.

The STOXX® Global 1800 index jumped 4.3% last month, for a 21.1% advance in 2021, as the Omicron coronavirus variant was reported to lead to significantly lower levels of hospitalizations than previous types. Despite lockdowns, ongoing travel restrictions and supply-chain bottlenecks, the STOXX Global 1800 index finished last year 37% above its pre-pandemic peak in February 2020.