Talking Heads - Investing in environmental solutions: Navigating a new era of resource scarcity

Europe is embarking on a far-reaching drive to strengthen its strategic autonomy, reducing dependence on external partners across critical areas including defence, energy, technology, healthcare, food security and industry. As Lazare Hounhouayenou, Portfolio Manager, tells Daniel Morris, Chief Market Strategist, around €1.8 trillion of investment is expected to be deployed by 2035 under major European and national initiatives.

European UCITS ETFs (EU regulated exchange-traded funds) attracted a record €125 billion in the third quarter, taking year-to-date inflows to almost €350 billion. As Daniel Dornel, Head of ETF Research, explains to Chief Market Strategist, Daniel Morris, fixed-income ETFs also attracted strong inflows, particularly into government bonds and ultra-short-duration products, despite rising yields.

Geopolitics, energy security, changing supply chains, fiscal policy, climate investment and increased infrastructure and AI spending could all contribute to a structurally more volatile inflation environment. Andy Craig, Co-head of the Investment Insights Centre, talks with Elida Rhenals, Co-head of Inflation and Senior Portfolio Manager within the Global Fixed Income team, about the role inflation-linked bonds can play in today’s investment landscape.

Europe is entering a pivotal era of strategic autonomy, seeking to build resilience across critical sectors such as defence, energy, communications, and technology in response to a more fragmented geopolitical landscape. Chris Iggo, CIO of AXA IM Core, part of BNPP AM, and Fadi Berbari, Senior Portfolio Manager in the fixed income team at BNP Paribas Asset Management, discuss how this shift toward strategic autonomy is reshaping Europe’s fixed income credit. Fadi explains why a selective, bottom-up approach is essential to capitalise on the stability and visibility offered by strategic European investments.

While Chinese equities have lagged other emerging markets recently, a powerful innovation ecosystem is accelerating beneath the surface. In this episode of Talking Heads, Daniel Morris, Chief Market Strategist, and David Choa, Head of Greater Chinese Equities, discuss why domestic substitution and technological disruption make China a potentially compelling source of diversification for global asset allocators.