Rogier Quirijns of Cohen & Steers spoke about the challenges the property sector has faced and whether it can bounce back.

Rising interest rates and the pandemic acting as a catalyst for how we live and work has changed the face of the real estate sector.

One portfolio manager keeping an eye on all such matters is Citywire A-rated Rogier Quirijns, head of European real estate at Cohen & Steers.

Quirijns, who has been consistently Citywire-rated since 2016, dropped into our studios to outline his views on the current state of the market.

Stacy Havener has raised $8bn for boutiques ‘that shouldn’t win’. Describing herself as blue-collar, ‘who got the wrong degree from the wrong school’, she sets out her stall as a much-needed misfit in the asset management industry. Her degree was English literature. And indeed, Havener is a storyteller, having communicated advice already through Citywire Selector’s Sales Craft column on topics such as ‘Ditch the Pitch’ and ‘You’re not the hero of the story’.  Now, in conversation with Selector editor, Will Robins, Havener turns fund sales traditions on their heads: Most salespeople’s KPIs are wrong; clients buy people not products and proving true differentiation cannot reply on numbers alone.

At 12 years in charge of global asset manager PGIM, David Hunt is one of the longest-serving CEOs in the business, anywhere. This tenure might have missed the financial crisis, but it has taken in a global pandemic, a European war, spiralling inflation and fast-rising rates. There is also the never-ending challenge of generating after-cost returns for investors, getting rewarded for taking risks and generating active alpha. Hunt’s visit to the UK co-includes with Citywire’s 25th anniversary, so Selector editor Will Robins begins by asking for his reflections on that period and who the winners and losers in asset management might be in the future. The wide-ranging conversation also features his lessons on leadership and culture, letting fund managers get things wrong, adding more private markets, tackling energy transition and the global economic and geopolitical outlook and how groups like his will respond strategically.  

Citywire sits down with David Zahn, head of sustainable fixed income at Franklin Templeton, to discuss opportunities in the green bond market.

Juan Delgado-Moreira was named co-CEO of private markets manager Hamilton Lane last year, alongside Erik Hirsch. Based in Hong Kong, Delgado’s particular focus is on expanding Hamilton Lane’s presence and distribution footprint around the world. Joining Citywire Selector editor Will Robins in Citywire’s London studio, Delgado tackles questions about targeting the wealth management market, balancing clients’ desire for liquidity with returns (and reality) and the firm’s foray into tokenisation. The alts chief also details the business’s development in Asia and how it has onboarded salespeople from asset managers to help it grow into the wealth segment. 

Few fund manager changes have created as big of a stir in recent year as the news that five of Allianz Global Investors’ 12-strong equity growth team were jumping ship in October of last year. The quintet – Thorsten Winkelmann, Marcus Morris-Eyton, Robert Hoffman, Nicolas Goncalves and Darina Valkova – resurfaced at AllianceBernstein in January 2024.

But what spurred the move in the first place? Why did the five fund managers choose a Nashville-headquartered investment house as their new home and what will success at the new shop look like? Chris Sloley was joined by Marcus Morris-Eyton in London, while Thorsten Winkelmann connected remotely from Frankfurt to answer these questions and more.

Cathy Hepworth of PGIM Fixed Income discusses how the ‘great power competition’ between the US and its rivals is reshaping investment in the developing world. With the face of global geopolitics rapidly changing, keeping abreast of developments in the huge universe of emerging market debt is no mean feat. Cathy Hepworth, who manages a host of local and hard currency EMD funds for PGIM Fixed Income, dropped in to speak to Citywire Selector news editor Ian Heath about the key trends to watch for at this time.

Topics discussed included what role emerging markets will play in a world that is rewiring itself, whether disinflation is happening as quickly as expected and where investment opportunities lie in the year ahead.

2024 has been dubbed the year of the polls, with 50 countries holding elections and more than 2 billion voters heading to the polls, including in the US, UK, India, Mexico and South Africa.

Mike Coop, Morningstar’s chief investment officer for EMEA, discusses which are the most important election in his opinion and how investors can protect portfolios against political turbulence.

Topics discussed included what impact the UK and US elections might have, the key differences between Trump and Biden and why diversification is so important right now.

Aviva Investors chief economist Mick Grady assesses the global economy moving into 2024 and explains his firm’s asset allocation strategy.

With the majority of 2024 lying ahead, Aviva Investors chief economist and investment strategist Mick Grady has plenty to think about.

He spoke to Citywire Selector news editor Ian Heath about how 2023 panned out, what his expectations for the next 12 months are and his firm’s investment convictions.

Topics discussed included last year’s economic surprises, why Grady remains ‘very cautious’ on Chinese assets and a record number of the world’s population going to the polls in 2024.

PODCAST: Morningstar’s sustainability director Hortense Bioy on the importance of not losing sight of the 1.5C target

Morningstar’s Arthur Carabia and Lindsey Stewart speak to Citywire’s Krystle Higgins on what governments need to enforce to support the climate agenda at COP28. 

COP28 is a crucial landmark in the fight against climate change, and keeping the financial and corporate worlds on track to achieving net zero emissions.

Morningstar’s Arthur Carabia, director of ESG policy research and Lindsey Stewart, director of investment stewardship research join Citywire’s Krystle Higgins to speak about their COP28 regulatory wish lists, as well as why this COP is so important.

Also discussed in this episode are what this season's ESG proxy voting trends tell us about the mood music leading up to COP28, as well as the vital role stewardship plays in the path to net zero.