The British High Street has always been susceptible to the vagaries of the economic cycle. It has survived wars, recessions and the rise of out-of-town retail parks. But the internet may pose one threat too many. Can our High Streets survive — and what will they have to become to do so?
“There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio,” Hamlet observed, “than are dreamt of in your philosophy.” Fast-forward from the Danish royal court of the Middle Ages to the boardrooms of the 21st century and we find this sentiment resonating perhaps more strikingly than ever before.
Some optimism has helped to bolster markets which have rebounded from the dog box they were in. Julian Chillingworth, Rathbones chief investment officer, explains why we are cautiously confident but still mindful of the looming threats to global growth.
Mass reporting on ESG factors could backfire, warns David Coombs, our head of multi-asset investments. Better to have active engagement and a deeper understanding of the companies you invest in.
In the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, the message from regulators to the investment industry was clear — society needs you to be active and responsible investors. For many asset managers, this meant thinking about signing the Stewardship Code, and upping their game on proxy voting and engagement with underlying companies.
We’ve always been a nation of shopkeepers and spendthrifts. But how we get our retail fix today is dramatically different to even five years ago, let alone the turn of the millennium
Our asset allocation strategy team considers whether the field of outperforming stocks is narrowing, and comes to an unexpected conclusion worth considering when advising your clients on investments.
Owing to its size and influence around the world, what happens in the US economy has important implications for financial markets everywhere.
With markets lurching from greed to fear and back again, Rathbones head of multi-asset investments discusses the importance of having good shock absorbers in your portfolio.