THE WisdomTree BLOG
Politics re-invented: Abe-Koike rivalry to bring supply-side reforms
Japan’s upcoming election is poised to usher in a new era of policy competition and political accountability. Structural reform in general, supply-side reform in particular, is poised to accelerate if, as we suspect, Tokyo Governor Koike catapults herself into the never-imagined-before position of being both in power and in opposition: in power because she will continue to be the ruling Governor of Tokyo; and in opposition because she will be the leader of the second largest party in parliament (assuming current opinion polls are correct in their predictions).
Emerging markets: alternative index strategies can outperform
Investors looking to gain exposure to emerging markets often feel compelled to use an active manager. This is based on the belief that these markets are less efficient and there is greater potential for value added over time. At WisdomTree we have been managing equity assets that track our emerging market indices for over ten years. Our family of dividend-based indices can demonstrate a live track record of how structured, disciplined and rules-based strategies tied to smart index construction have added value over traditional market cap-weighted indices.
"Koikenomics" to re-energise "Abenomics"
A new force is gaining momentum in Japanese politics, led by Tokyo Governor Koike. Her new national party—Party of Hope—has just forged an election alliance with the opposition Democratic Party that could deliver as many as 120-180 out of 465 seats contested in the upcoming 22 October lower house election. Most importantly, "Koikenomics" is poised to re-energise the original pro-growth promise of "Abenomics". This is because Governor Koike has a long-standing record as a pro-business, pro-deregulation and pro-growth politician.
Can you find quality companies in every sector?
Europe’s “back to normal” leaves safe havens at risk: Should you hedge German Bunds?
The European political uncertainty and risks posed to financial markets are—for now—over. A Liberals-led mainstream coalition in The Netherlands firmly aligned with Germany’s EU agenda and a pro-European President of France upending fringe/extreme sentiment preserves the status quo. Also, Germany’s election in September was largely a non-event with Merkel this year leading early on in the polls and the Social Democrats headed by Martin Schulz as runner up. The far right AFD coming as third largest was the main surprise and will complicate Merkel’s efforts to create and run a coalition government. Italy is unlikely to have its election until 2018.
Japan early election would delay BOJ exit further
Japanese media are speculating that PM Abe may call a snap election, possibly as early as October 22. Although the Prime Minister himself has, so far, not commented on these speculations—and it is at the Prime Minister's discretion to dissolve Parliament—my sources suggest a reasonable probability of an early election. If so, the key implication for markets would be an almost certain change in Japan's macro policy mix: the probability of taxes going up in 2019 would rise, which in turn raises the odds that the BOJ will have to do more for longer to ensure against the inevitable recession that has always followed consumption tax hikes.
Is your emerging markets allocation complete?
Emerging market (EM) equities sold off sharply following the election of Donald Trump last November, perhaps owing to the protectionist rhetoric and tough trade talk from the president-elect. With that, the MSCI Emerging Markets Index fell 4.2% in the final quarter of 2016, breaking a streak of four consecutive positive quarters.
Japan's tourism boom to bring growing political support for Yen depreciation
India bull run part II: Household inflows propelling India toward multiple-year bull market
We recently covered the ongoing structural changes in India that stand to benefit equities in the long run. In this post, we cover a second propeller for Indian equities that we believe will support gains in the market: the inflow from domestic investors.
India bull run part I: Structural changes propelling India toward multiple-year bull market
Why you can't afford to miss European small caps
After getting past a variety of elections—most notably the French presidential election—without anti-market sentiment spreading throughout Europe, we have seen a relatively large shift in equity market performance. Fundamentals within Europe were allowed to drive performance as opposed to equity markets needing to be wary of Brexit or Trump-like election surprises.
Nizam Hamid
ETF Strategist
Nizam Hamid is an ETF Strategist for WisdomTree in Europe and has extensive experience in the European ETF market. Prior to this he was at C8 Investments, a systematic hedge fund, focusing on business development and quantitative strategies, before that he was a consultant at FTSE. From 2010 to 2012, he was Head of ETF Strategy and Deputy Head of Lyxor ETFs, at the time Europe’s second largest ETF issuer. Before joining Lyxor he was Head of Sales Strategy for the Europe and the Middle East at iShares in London. Prior to that, he was Global Head of ETFs, Portfolio and Index Strategy at Deutsche Bank from 1998 to 2008. He has also worked as a quantitative analyst in London and Tokyo for UBS, BZW and Bankers Trust / NatWest Markets. He holds a Degree in Economics from the University of Liverpool.
Viktor Nossek
Director of Research
Viktor, who has over 14 years’ experience in research, joined the firm from Renaissance Asset Managers where he was Head of Research. Viktor provides macro research on various themes covering equities, commodities and fixed income. His research for WisdomTree in Europe offers investment strategies for the current range of Smart Beta UCITS ETFs as well as the Boost range of short and leveraged Exchange Traded Notes. Viktor has previously worked as a Research Analyst at BlackRock and Thomson Financial. He started his career as an Equity Strategist at Commerzbank, after he completed a Masters in Economics from Maastricht University, in the Netherlands.
Nick Leung
Research Analyst
Nick Leung is a Research Analyst for WisdomTree in Europe. He is responsible for macroeconomic commentary and analysis, formulating investment strategies and trade ideas, as well as the maintenance of research collateral. Prior to joining in 2015, Nick was at Source, having completed his Master’s Degree at Imperial College London. During this time he was also involved in an ice-cream entrepreneurship project with Unilever. Nick holds a BA in Economics from the University of Nottingham.
Jose Poncela
Head of ETNs
Jesper Koll
WisdomTree's Head of Japan
Vania Pang
Capital Markets and Investment Solutions, Index and Quantitative Investment, ICBC Credit Suisse Asset Management (International) Company Limited
Ms. Pang holds a M.Sc. in Development Finance from The University of Manchester, a M.A. in Journalism and a B.A. in Business Administration from The Chinese University of Hong Kong.