Financial newsletter
The seeming paradox of the ECB
With a recovery still a long way from returning to normal, financial stability has become the ECB’s main challenge. Alberto Matellán, chief economist at MAPFRE Inversión, argues that sharp rises in prices in the US could drag the European inflation curve upward and thus change the central bank’s stance on monetary stimulus.
“Alternative investments have come to stay”
Despite an eventual recovery of conventional assets for long-term investment, such as fixed income, institutional investors are paying more attention to alternative investments. At the Managing Assets for Insurers conference, organized by the Financial Times, José Luis Jiménez, MAPFRE’s group chief investment officer, explained that these assets are becoming increasingly important in portfolios.
Luis García, named manager of the month
The MAPFRE AM Behavioral Fund has performed solidly over the last 12 months, appreciating more than 60 percent. In recognition of this, Luis García, fund manager at MAPFRE AM, has received the Manager of the Month award. In an interview in Rankia Pro, the investment expert highlights the importance of controlling emotions and value investing in the fund’s investment decisions.
“Markets have moved to a state of tense calm”
While the main European indexes are having trouble overcoming resistance, the good performance of large US companies has driven stock market to all-time highs. Ismael García Puente, investment manager and fund selector at MAPFRE Gestión Patrimonial, in an interview on Radio Intereconomía, takes a look at the current situation of the commodities market and recommends investors give the renewables sector due consideration when allocating the investment portfolios.
Trade as a tool, not as a reason in itself
Global trade policy is currently in a transitional phase, dominated by growing national and established assertiveness in the United States and Europe. In an article in El Confidencial, Gonzalo de Cadenas-Santiago, director of macroeconomic and financial analysis at MAPFRE Economics, goes over the debate on the benefits of free trade and its challenges for the next years, as detailed in the European Trade Policy Review.
MAPFRE’s Solvency II ratio stands at 201 percent at the close of the first quarter of the year
The Solvency II ratio reflected an improvement in eligible own funds as a result of the positive development of financial variables. With an increase of eight percentage points, MAPFRE has managed to bring in the first quarter of 2021 the ratio to the 200 percent level, the midpoint of the range set by the Group and double the capital required by the regulator.
Tiny Spanish Soccer Listing May Spur Deals
The more-than-likely IPO of a small Spanish soccer team could unleash a wave of new investment opportunities in the sport. Luis García, fund manager at MAPFRE AM, explains the Intercity CF case and analyzes the composition of the fund which allocates around 10 percent of its portfolio to large European football clubs.
MAPFRE AM is more optimistic about banking sector
After suffering the effects of the coronavirus crisis in 2020, the banking sector is experiencing a very positive year so far. With a considerable growth rate, Cristina Benito, head of equities at MAPFRE AM, points out that this good view on banks is due to the improvement in the economic outlook as well as the estimated earnings for banks and the return to dividends.
