Impact-investment. Creating social benefit while generating attractive long-term returns is the goal of NN Investment Partners' Smart Connectivity strategy. Companies are sought that benefit from the shift towards a more sustainable economy, have a positive impact on the environment or society and contribute to the UN's sustainability goals with their innovative solutions. "Did you know that around four billion people worldwide live in cities?" asks Ivo Luiten, Lead Portfolio Manager at NN Investment Partners (NN IP). "They generate around 60 percent of global GDP, but are also responsible for 70 percent of climate-damaging emissions. So to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and limit global warming, urban infrastructure is a very important...

Space stocks. The first tourist flights into space have aroused interest in the investment theme of New Space. But there is much more to it than that: navigation and communication possibilities based on satellites, the observation of climate data from space or the exploitation of new sources of raw materials are fascinating development opportunities. There is enormous potential for the companies involved. Space, endless expanses. The year is 2021, and these are the adventures of private spaceship captains who are giving tourists a glimpse of the Blue Planet and exploring whole new business opportunities. This July, Virgin Galactic, the company owned by British billionaire Richard Branson, launched into space. On board: the founder himself...

Real estate industry. Buildings are among the biggest emitters ofCO2."We will therefore not succeed in complying with the Paris climate agreement without a sustainable real estate industry," Thomas Wiegelmann of Schroder Real Estate is convinced. Because the pressure on this sector will continue to increase, investors will have to pay very close attention to the sustainability of real estate investments in the future. With high energy consumption and heavy reliance on fossil fuels, real estate is the focus of any strategy that aims to combat climate change. "For investors, this is a major challenge. After all, only companies that strategically position themselves correctly at an early stage will prosper in the long term," Thomas Wiegelmann,...

Monetary policy. In recent years, the printing press has become the tool of choice to combat economic crises. Central banks bought bonds with "freshly printed money" to stabilize the banking system in the 2008 financial crisis and cushion the impact of the current pandemic. Meanwhile, the balance sheets of the FED and the ECB have grown to nearly double-digit trillions. Who is footing the bill? Whenever disaster threatens, the cavalry comes. In the economy, the central banks have been doing this job for years. "And even if the rescue policy of recent years has been subject to repeated criticism, the successes to date speak for themselves: despite severe turbulence, the economy has been able to return to a growth path each time and make...

Secondary Private Equity. In times of low interest rates and high valuations on the stock markets, classic portfolios of shares and bonds no longer work as well as they did in the past. "I therefore advise restructuring the portfolio," explains Florian Dillinger, Matador Partners Group: "Private equity, the participation in unlisted companies, stabilizes and increases the return." "Take a little trip back in time with me to the year 2031," prompts Florian Dillinger, Matador Partners Group, "and consider what returns will probably be achieved in the individual asset classes in the coming years." In the bond sector, the pro says, that's pretty straightforward. "Even if we come out of the negative interest rate era very slowly, it's not...