Investment Strategies

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• Why Now May Be a Good Time to Consider CLOs

  A wave of refinancings has tested the CLO market’s capacity, but it has also created relative value opportunities up and down the capital structure—particularly in seasoned, BB deals.

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• Has EM Debt Reached a Turning Point?

  There are reasons to believe EM growth will surprise to the upside in the coming months, suggesting the asset class may be poised for strong performance.

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• From Rising Rates to Rising Stars: What’s Ahead for IG Credit?

  Rising rates can bring challenges to IG corporate credit, but opportunities are emerging as well—particularly given the supportive fundamental and technical backdrop.

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• Is High Yield in a Sweet Spot?

  High yield continues to benefit from supportive tailwinds—from an improving default picture to lower sensitivity to rising rates—and may be poised for strong performance as the recovery takes hold.

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• Riding the Refinancing Wave

  Private credit has fared well during this crisis, but the real test may come at the back end, say Barings’ head of private assets Eric Lloyd and CFO of Barings BDC Jon Bock.

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• ESG: Three Challenges High Yield Managers are Tackling Today

  From influencing company behavior to seeking better data disclosure, high yield managers are pushing the envelope when it comes to ESG.

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• U.S. Real Estate: Why the Life Sciences Market is Flourishing

  The Life Sciences real estate market is growing rapidly with investor and tenant interest reaching new highs. Barings Real Estate’s Joe Gorin and Nasir Alamgir explain what’s driving this—from both equity and debt perspectives—and weigh in on where the market may go from here.

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• Finding the Right Sovereign ESG Indicators: A Greek Tragedy?

  On our mini odyssey through the vast seas of sovereign ESG indicators, we sought to identify data from reliable third parties—which would provide benchmarking criteria between countries and also serve as an effective screening tool to identify outliers.

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• EMD: Light at the End of the Tunnel

  The rollout of the COVID vaccine may be slower across emerging markets, meaning restrictions will likely remain in place for the foreseeable future. But there are bright spots—including in local currencies and companies that have adapted to this ‘new normal’.

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• Why the Distressed Debt Opportunity Looks Different This Cycle

  A surge in defaults and distressed opportunities seemed likely when COVID struck—but stimulus measures and creative financing solutions have reshaped both the opportunity set and the timing.

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• High Yield: Strong Tailwinds, But It May be a Bumpy Ride

  High yield has a number of supportive tailwinds at its back—from a more manageable default picture and less exposure to potentially rising rates to investors’ continued demand for yield. But uncertainties remain, suggesting a potentially bumpy path to recovery.

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• Three Factors Shaping the Opportunity in European Private Credit

  The growing importance of market access, a wider investor base and the impact of ESG on pricing are reshaping the European middle market.

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• North American Private Credit: Expectations vs. Reality

  The impact of COVID on North American private credit has been surprising in some ways and more predictable in others. Ian Fowler sheds light on lessons learned over the past year and offers advice on how to navigate today’s market.

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• Distressed Debt: The Opportunities Surfacing in COVID's Wake

  Barings’ Stuart Mathieson and Bryan High provide insight into today’s distressed debt market, including their expectations for defaults, an overview of the competitive landscape, and where the next opportunities may emerge across the U.S. and Europe.

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• ASEAN Equities: “Opportunities in Every Crisis”

  Barings’ SooHai Lim discusses the dynamics shaping ASEAN equities today, from lessons learned from the pandemic to the structural trends supporting the region.

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• Emerging Markets Equity: Evolving & Transforming

  Technological innovation, an increasingly confident consumer and a growing focus on ESG are re-shaping the long-term growth opportunity in emerging market equities.

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• The Structural and Cyclical Case for U.S. Real Estate Debt

  While the ongoing disruption from the pandemic will put downward pressure on market fundamentals until the virus is no longer a threat, opportunities will likely emerge across the risk-return spectrum in advance of a recovery in demand and property income.

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• Private Credit: Boring is (Still) Beautiful

  Barings' Ian Fowler discusses the current state of the North American private credit market, including insights into deal activity, pricing, and how the Barings team is investing through the pandemic.

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• Winter is Here, But Spring is Coming

  With additional fiscal relief and steady progress in vaccinations in the first half of 2021, the U.S. economy should be regaining momentum by the end of Q2, helping to stabilize real estate demand in the second half of the year. The Barings Real Estate team weighs in.

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• Are the Most Compelling Post-COVID Opportunities in Offices?

  Property investors and their lenders are shifting down the risk curve and becoming highly selective about sector exposures and asset quality. The Barings Real Estate team weighs in on the opportunity set—and why the overall outlook remains positive.

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• Four Themes for Insurance Asset Management in 2021

  Insurers have fared relatively well through the pandemic, but there is likely a long and uneven road to recovery ahead. With this in mind, there are four key themes worth considering for insurance company investors in the months to come.

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• EM Debt: Where is the Value Today?

  Barings’ Cem Karacadag discusses the outlook for emerging markets debt, including the uneven impact of the pandemic, how rising interest rates and fluctuating currencies may influence the picture, and the increasing role that ESG is playing in identifying winners and losers.

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• The False Dawn of Big Tech Regulation?

  Calls for increased regulation of tech giants have indeed grown—but will they have the desired impact? In our opinion, the focus on "big is bad" is simply ineffective in a digital world.

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• CLOs: Cautious Optimism

  Coming off a tumultuous year, CLOs look well-positioned going forward—particularly if the economy continues to heal and rates move higher.

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• How Healthy is Today's Private Credit Market?

  Barings’ Jon Bock weighs in on the dynamics shaping private credit today—from deal activity, to leverage metrics, to spread levels—and discusses how investors can access the opportunity.

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• Three Reasons Loans May Be Poised for Strong Performance

  It’s not as simple as ‘when rates rise buy loans; when rates fall buy bonds.’ Indeed, a combination of several factors has set the stage for loans to potentially deliver attractive total returns going forward.

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• 2021 Outlook: The Uneven Recovery

  The recovery in many ways looks real and durable—but it also looks uneven and, in some cases, quite unpredictable. In this discussion, investment professionals from the public and private markets discuss where they expect to see risks and opportunities in the year ahead.

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• The Case for European Real Estate Debt

  The supportive pricing fundamentals in the European real estate market, and low leverage relative to previous property cycles, suggest the asset class is well-positioned to withstand the impact of the pandemic.

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• 2021 Outlook: The Uneven Recovery

  Listen as Barings' portfolio managers and investment professionals discuss the cyclical and structural trends expected to shape public and private markets in 2021 & beyond.

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• Private Credit: How Healthy is Today's Middle Market?

  Barings’ Jon Bock weighs in on the current dynamics driving today’s private credit markets from deal activity, to leverage metrics, to spread levels, and discusses the pro’s and con’s of investment structures from public and private BDCs to commingled funds.

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• Structural Trends Supporting Asian Equities

  There are a number of supportive structural trends shaping the opportunity in Asian equities, many of which—perhaps counterintuitively—have been amplified by the pandemic and U.S.-China trade tensions.

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• Value-Add Beyond the Pandemic

  The shock provided by the global pandemic has roiled real estate markets around the world—which means that the quality and location of properties has never been more important.

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• European Real Estate Research Quarterly

  While COVID has negatively impacted the retail and hotel sectors, the logistics and residential sectors have been much less affected. The Barings Real Estate team weighs in on the opportunity set—and why the overall outlook remains positive.

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• U.S. Real Estate Research Quarterly

  Although the U.S. economy bounced back sharply in the third quarter, the near-term path for the economy and real estate markets remains highly dependent on progress toward a medical solution to COVID and the degree of further lockdowns. The Barings Real Estate team weighs in.

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• Real Estate Debt: Die neue Anlagechance in Europa

  Sam Mellor von Barings Real Estate beschreibt die Trends, die dem strukturellen Wachstum von Immobilienanleihen in Europa zugrunde liegen, vergleicht die Anlageklasse mit anderen öffentlichen und direkten festverzinslichen Alternativen und stellt sie gegenüber.

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• EMD: A Strong Tailwind, But Risks on the Horizon

  Segments of the EM debt market have been bright spots in fixed income this year. Will EMs outperform DMs in the months ahead—or are the risks too great? It may come down to country and credit selection.

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• Post-COVID European Private Credit: A Higher Quality Market?

  On the back of COVID, transactions in the European middle market are showing decreased leverage levels, stronger documentation and improvements in pricing—suggesting a rebasing of the market from where it has been for the past several years.

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• Are EM Countries Able (and Willing) to Pay Their Debt?

  Capitalizing on opportunities in EM debt will not only require traditional fundamental analysis to determine countries’ ability to satisfy their debt obligations, but also—and perhaps just as importantly—an understanding of their willingness to pay.

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• Emerging Markets Equity: Evolving and Transforming

  From leading technologies, shifting consumption patterns, evolving business models to ESG—there are a number of factors shaping the opportunity in EM equities. Join Barings’ EM Equities team as they unpack the structural trends shaping this landscape and discuss the opportunities they expect to see going forward.

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• The Crisis No One is Talking About

  The migration patterns stemming from Venezuela’s economic collapse provide key ESG insights, especially for Colombia and other neighboring countries, and particularly when compared to the case of Syrian refugees in Turkey.

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• ESG in Equities: Better Outcomes Require Better Practices

  Not all approaches to ESG are created equal—why a focus on integration, forward-looking dynamics and active engagement is the key to unlocking long-term returns in equity investments.

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• ESG in Equities: Not All Approaches are Created Equal

  Dr. Ghadir Cooper, Global Head of Equities, shares insight into the deliberate approach that her team takes when incorporating ESG into their investment process, including how integration, dynamism and active engagement contribute to better outcomes.

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• The Evolving Opportunity in Distressed Debt

  As the pandemic recedes, some companies may have a harder time managing higher debt levels than others—and as weaker issuers undergo restructurings or other stressed situations, there may be opportunities for investors to deploy more capital into distressed debt strategies.

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• Three Reasons for EM Short Duration Debt

  Emerging markets debt has shown much resilience despite facing its share of pandemic-induced difficulties. A short-dated approach, in particular, can provide an opportunity to pick up incremental yield and diversification, with less volatility.

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• Private Credit: The Turn of the Cycle

  Co-Heads of Global Private Finance, Ian Fowler and Adam Wheeler describe the evolving conditions in the North American and European private credit markets and where opportunities may arise in the months and years ahead.

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• U.S. Real Estate: More Reward in Core?

  As investors in the market continue to chase yield, the risk premium—or the reward for taking that risk—appears to be diminishing. In this environment, we’re seeing some of the best opportunities in the highest-quality assets.

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• The Continued Democratization of Private Equity

  Private equity is an asset class that has traditionally been available only to very large, sophisticated institutional investors. But this is changing rapidly—a trend we expect to accelerate in 2020.

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• Amid Rising ‘Mequity’ Risk, Boring Can Be Beautiful

  In both the U.S. and Europe, there is significant pressure both at the top and bottom ends of the middle market. As a result, we’re seeing potentially attractive value today in the more traditional, true middle market.

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• Comeback Time for International Equities?

  Because the U.S. equity market is broad and deep, there will almost always be opportunities—but in aggregate, we think international equity markets may be more compelling over the next year.

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• A Bright Spot in Higher-Yielding EM Corporate Debt

  Many EM regions have been engulfed in uncertainty for weeks or months. While these situations certainly represent risks, we also continue to find value—often in globally diversified companies that have been unfairly punished by markets because of where they’re domiciled.

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• 2020: An Inflection Point for EM Currencies?

  With the financial crisis more than a decade behind us, the global financial system seems poised to begin re-leveraging. This process, which would likely take years to play out, would provide a source of funding for EM currencies, and represent a significant tailwind.

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• Seeking Big Opportunities in Small Companies

  As Europe finds itself in a climate of lackluster growth and political volatility, with an equity market that has been on an unprecedented 10-year bull run, investors are searching for pockets of value. A long-term allocation to small-cap equities is one potential solution.

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• CLOs: Triple C's and Market Unease

  Taryn Leonard and Melissa Ricco, Co-Heads of Barings’ Structured Credit Investment Team, discuss the recent loan market weakness, and how technical pressures are creating value opportunities in the CLO market.

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• EM Debt: Warding Off Headwinds with Active Management

  Ricardo Adroguè, Head of Global Sovereign Debt and Currencies, addresses the many risks facing the global economy—specifically China, Argentina and the Middle East—and explains why active management is critical to performance.

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• Disruptive Technology: Keeping Pace With the Pace of Change

  Barings equity analysts, Matthew Ward and Colin Moar speak with Dr. Christopher Smart of the Barings Investment Institute about their recent whitepaper, “How Will Technological Disruption Strike Next?”

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• ESG for Sovereigns: One Size Does Not Fit All

  ESG has risen to the forefront of many investment strategies over the last decade. At Barings, our EM Sovereign Debt team takes a country-by-country approach, assessing ESG factors in the context of sustainability and—ultimately—creditworthiness.

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• ABS: Uncovering Opportunities Beyond the (IG) Index

  Amid an ongoing search for yield, with several potential risks on the horizon, there may be benefits to exploring opportunities outside of traditional corporate and government bonds—such as parts of the ABS universe.

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• Investing in Late-Cycle European Private Credit

  Adam Wheeler, Co-Head of Barings’ Global Private Finance Group, discusses the importance of discipline and risk management in today’s late-cycle environment.

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• European Real Estate Equity: Uncovering Value City by City

  Charles Weeks, Head of Real Estate Equity for Europe and Asia Pacific, discusses the backdrop for European real estate markets, where the team is seeing the most value by sector and geography, and why they always take an active approach across strategies and investment styles.

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• EM Debt: Navigating the Geopolitical Noise

  From the Middle East to China to Argentina, investors face no shortage of geopolitical risks and negative headlines. But is there still value to be found across emerging markets? Dr. Ricardo Adrogué weighs in.

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• High Yield: A Time to be Nimble

  In this Q&A, Martin Horne, Head of Global Public Fixed Income, discusses the state of high yield markets amid a late-cycle environment, and why it’s critical to be nimble and selective in order to capture points of relative value.

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• Infrastructure Debt: Steady Activity, Lingering Macro Doubts

  Despite the expected seasonal summer slowdown, infrastructure debt financing deals remained steady overall in the third quarter of 2019—with strong activity in the U.S. and Canada, and slightly slowing activity in Europe, with a cautious eye toward Brexit.

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• IG CLOs: Strong Excess Return Potential, Lower Volatility

  IG CLOs can offer investors the benefits of spread pick-up and lower mark-to-market volatility, largely due to underlying collateral performance and structural security. But above all, manager selection is critical—even at the highest-rated tranches.

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• Emerging Markets Debt: Taking a Hard (Currency) Stance

  EMD performance was muted in Q3, but valuations remain attractive and emerging economies are growing at a measured pace. We continue to favor hard currency assets, which are benefitting from lower rate expectations.

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• High Yield: Poised to Capture Relative Value

  Despite mounting uncertainty in the broader markets, high yield delivered broadly positive returns in Q3. As we continue to move through the late stages of a prolonged cycle, credit selection will be critical.

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• Structured Credit: Engaging Risk Tactics

  Deal flow remained steady in Q3, keeping primary market spreads range-bound. Against a backdrop of low global interest rates, we have seen increasing investor interest in European CLOs.

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• High Yield: Rates, Recessions and Relative Value

  While there is no shortage of risks to consider in today’s high yield markets—from ESG to the end of the credit cycle—Barings’ Martin Horne describes how taking a contrarian approach can help investors uncover pockets of value.

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• Emerging Markets Sovereign Debt: Does Active Management Pay?

  The performance of EM Sovereign Debt can—and does—vary widely from country to country. Barings’ Cem Karacadag explores how an active approach can be key to selecting the most attractive opportunities, while also avoiding the bad apples.

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• Are High Yield Investors Being Compensated for Risks?

  In the context of today’s fundamental backdrop and default outlook, spread levels suggest investors are being fairly compensated, relative to other points in the cycle, for the amount of risk they are taking.

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• European Real Estate: Late-Cycle Value from Manchester to Munich

  Can value still be found (or created) ten years into the European property market cycle? And if so, which sectors, geographies and risk profiles look most compelling? Barings’ Charles Weeks weighs in.

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• The GFC: 10 Years On

  The mid-market continues to attract private debt investors as the Fed cuts interest rates. Could this fuel the economy and rev up the deal market, or are we nearing the end of the credit cycle? Eric Lloyd recently weighed in with a panel of experts for PDI.

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• Is Short-Termism Masking a Long-Term Opportunity in EM Equities?

  Emerging markets are in the headlines on a regular basis, but we rarely hear the whole story. In this article, which also appears in September’s edition of IPE, Ghadir Cooper explains more.

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• Distressed Debt: Seeking Opportunity in Choppy Waters

  Stuart Mathieson, Head of Barings’ Global Special Situations group, and Bryan High, Co-Portfolio Manager of the strategy, discuss how the macro environment is impacting their outlook, and where they're seeing distressed debt opportunities today.

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• U.S. Loans: Challenged Market or Veiled Opportunity?

  With loan and bond yields currently comparable, we believe—in a somewhat contrarian view to the market—there is a good argument for investing in loans, particularly in the U.S., where the economy appears to be marginally stronger than in Europe.

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• European Smaller Companies: An Evergreen Growth Opportunity

  In this Q&A, Nick Williams, Barings’ Head of Small Cap Equities, discusses the opportunities his team is seeing in the current environment, and explains why an active, bottom-up approach, is key to identifying high-quality companies.

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• Four Reasons Security Matters Right Now

  Amid the late stages of an elongated credit cycle, Martin Horne, Barings’ Head of Global High Yield, discusses four reasons why global senior secured bonds—a lesser known and perhaps underappreciated subset of high yield—could be an attractive option in the event of defaults.

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• Global Emerging Markets Equities: Where Do We Stand?

  In this Q&A, William Palmer and Michael Levy, Co-Heads for Emerging and Frontier Equities, discuss their approach to accessing the asset class, current trends, and why recent headwinds may be becoming tailwinds.

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• Is There Style Drift in Middle Market Lending?

  Barings’ Ian Fowler weighs in on the supply/demand dynamics in the direct lending space and explains why looking at the middle market as one cohesive universe can be misleading.

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• High Yield: Identifying Value Amid Shifting Sentiment

  Despite the sharp turns in high yield markets over the past two quarters, companies ticked along without flinching—posting strong earnings over the course. David Mihalick, Barings’ Head of U.S. High Yield Investments, explains why.

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• German Equities Present Opportunities to Combat Headwinds

  In this Q&A, Rob Smith, Manager of the Barings German Growth strategy, shares his thoughts on how German equities are positioned to combat various headwinds, and which sectors the team expects future growth to come from.

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• Enterprise Software: Valuation Matters

  While industry dynamics remain healthy and growth prospects exist, current enterprise software valuations look stretched.

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• Tempering Enthusiasm for Mexico’s Corporate Bond Market

  Omotunde Lawal, Head of EM Corporate Debt, reports back from a recent trip to Mexico, where the Barings team conducted on-the-ground research through meetings with a wide variety of corporate issuers, economists and ratings agencies.

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• Forecasting The Next Decade: An Analysis Of Asset Returns

  Barings Multi Asset Group combines the underlying factors that will drive markets over the long term with today’s valuations to produce total return forecasts for major asset classes over the next ten years.

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• Why Russia May be Set for an Explosion in E-commerce Growth

  Historically a laggard in the e-commerce world, Russia is showing signs of life. But challenges remain.

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• High Yield Bonds & Loans: Where to Next?

  High yield markets roared back in the first quarter. Can market fundamentals and technicals support continued strength? And how should investors factor in risks ranging from possible recession, to ratings downgrades, to liquidity concerns? Barings’ David Mihalick weighs in.

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• EM Debt: Investing with Cautious Optimism

  Sovereign debt outperformed in Q1 as geopolitical headlines continued to garner attention and commodities rallied. Risks remain for the asset class but some notable headwinds have now become tailwinds.

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• Intangible Assets: The Royal Opportunity Set

  A subset of Intangibles, pharmaceutical royalties present a particularly compelling investment opportunity. Barings’ Jon Rotolo and David Jin explain why.

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• IG Credit: Can the Rally Last?

  BBB-rated credits led the first quarter recovery despite early signs of deterioration among fundamentals. With spreads significantly tighter this year, short duration credits may pose an attractive investment option.

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• Structured Credit: Receding Headwinds Support CLO Performance

  CLOs rebounded in the first quarter as credit concerns receded. Lower interest rates may drive continued interest in the asset class moving forward.

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• High Yield: A Swift Rebound

  High yield bonds and loans posted a strong Q1 following the technically induced Q4 sell-off. With defaults still near historical lows, current spreads provide attractive risk-adjusted return potential.

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• Intangible Assets: A Source of Uncorrelated Income?

  In today’s information economy, intangible assets continue to grow in size and importance. Barings’ Jon Rotolo and David Jin discuss the role these assets are playing in diversified portfolios through a real-world example in the pharma royalty space.

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• Real Estate Debt: A Time for Balance

  Dean Dulchinos, Head of Real Estate Debt Portfolio Management and Capital Markets, recently spoke with PERE about how he expects the U.S. real estate debt market to shape up in 2019—including the opportunities it presents, the shift in both investor types and risk-reward profiles sought, and how credit cycle placement is affecting the asset class.

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• Private Equity: Emerging, Women & Diverse Managers

  Amid increased competition and rich valuations, PE returns have continued to trend downward. In this interview, Barings’ Mina Nazemi discusses how allocations to emerging, women and diverse managers can potentially help combat this trend.

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• The Potential Benefits of Global Senior Secured Loans

  In the current environment, senior secured loans are gaining traction for their potential to offer a blend of attractive yield and protection against both credit and interest rate risk.

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• EM Debt: Navigating a Shifting Macro Backdrop

  After a rocky 2018, the picture may be brightening for emerging markets debt. From rising rates to trade wars, some of last year’s headwinds look to be receding, at least for now. Barings’ Ricardo Adroguè and Omotunde Lawal highlight opportunities they’re currently seeing.

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• EM Debt—A Brightening Picture?

  Barings’ Ricardo Adroguè and Omotunde Lawal highlight opportunities they’re seeing from Mexico and Brazil to more challenged geographies like Turkey and Argentina—and provide insight into how they’re thinking about political hotspots like Venezuela.

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• Un Fonds de Private Equity ne se Limite pas à ses Chiffres

  Chez Barings, contrairement à la croyance populaire, nous pensons que l’identification de gestionnaires de fonds émergents et diversifiés peut générer des rendements attractifs ajustés au risque des investisseurs.

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• Is it Time to Consider a Blended Approach to EMD?

  How can investors tap into the diverse opportunities within EM debt? Ricard Adrogué, Head of Emerging Markets Debt and Omotunde Lawal Head of Emerging Markets Corporate Credit Research, weigh in.

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• 5 Things to Consider When Investing in Private Credit

  In this piece from Benefits and Pensions Monitor, Barings’ Ian Fowler discusses five key considerations for investors interested in allocating to private credit.

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• How We Invest in Global Real Estate Markets

  At Barings, we leverage our deep teams, global presence and expertise across the four quadrants of real estate as we seek to help our clients turn opportunities into real solutions.

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• EM Local Debt: Focused on Fundamentals

  Barings' combination of quantitative and qualitative analysis and tools provide a comprehensive and rigorous framework for investing in emerging markets local debt. In this Viewpoint, we give readers an inside look into our investment process.

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