News - Page 15 - Mapfre AM

“Lowering rates doesn’t seem compatible with the current state of the economy”

The ECB decided to keep the three official interest rates unchanged for the fourth consecutive time, and reinforced the message that the debate on lowering rates remains premature.

European stock markets, and particularly the Spanish one, may still have "more to give”

The upturn in inflation in the United States has attracted investors' attention, but that hasn't slowed down the European Stock Exchanges, explains Alberto Matellán, chief economist at MAPFRE Inversión.

“When I first entered the workforce, asset management was a man's world”

In the latest MAPFRE AM interview of the month, we speak with Paloma Ramos, financial risk and sustainability manager at MAPFRE AM, who has almost 30 years experience at the fund manager. “When I started out, there was only a handful of women working in the sector, just a few dozen," she highlights.

“We integrate an ESG perspective into every financial product we manage”

Sustainability is one of the major trends of recent years, but integrating it into strategies is not always easy. At MAPFRE, we have made an effort to ensure that our investment portfolio is aligned with our commitment to people and the planet.

"MAPFRE's stock price has more upside than its current level"

MAPFRE shares increased in value by more than 7% in 2023, enabling the insurance group to close the year with a market capitalization of almost €6 billion. Despite last year’s improvement, this figure is still far from its book value, which is more than €2 billion higher.

Japan: an increasingly attractive market for investors

On February 22, the Nikkei 225, the main indicator of the Japanese stock market, finally closed at a new all-time high, above the December 1989 record.

MAPFRE AM: “We are surveying the sector to keep growing inorganically”

MAPFRE AM wants to keep growing inorganically through purchases especially to bolster its distribution capacity. The development of the institutional investor segment and the capacity they will have to manage their own illiquid asset vehicles are two of the priorities the firm is considering for the coming years.

“The more imperfect the market, the better active management works, in emerging markets as well”

The complexity of emerging markets makes active management the best strategy for investing in this area, which performed poorly in 2023 due to China, but shows promise for the coming years.

What are indexed bonds?

The persistence of inflation has caused investors to seek financial products that help protect them, such as index-linked bonds, which link their return to that rate.