Insights

We believe that the biggest fundamental change for Asian markets in the medium term is a shift in the interest rates regime, notably that of the US.

In a positive bond market environment driven by global monetary easing expectations, we favour government bonds from India, Indonesia and the Philippines, where higher yields remain attractive to investors.

This month we assess why the market is unfazed by Japan’s upcoming leadership change; we also explain how a bid for a prominent Japanese convenience store operator has highlighted how affordable domestic firms now look in the eyes of their foreign counterparts.

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand’s rate cut in August appears to constitute a slight easing of the brakes rather than a large change. With the Official Cash Rate at 5.25%, conditions are still restrictive. The first signs of recovery are likely to be seen in improvements in business and consumer confidence, but it will take some time for the impact to filter through to borrowers.

In August the Reserve Bank of New Zealand lowered interest rates, marking the first change in the Official Cash Rate since May 2023. We expect New Zealand equities to be supported if the central bank maintains an accommodative approach.

The Global Equity Team answers the following questions related to the key trends they see emerging: 1)does the AI investment theme still offer significant long-term potential? 2) will the market leadership broaden beyond technology names into other sectors? and 3) what are the main risks and challenges equity investors may face in the remainder of 2024?

As the November 2024 US presidential elections draw ever closer, we explore the global trade, economic and geopolitical implications from an Asian equity perspective, focusing on the uncertainties and opportunities that could arise if Donald Trump secures a second term in office.

For August we reduced our overweight on growth assets amid volatility in the markets and maintained a neutral position on defensives. We expect volatility to be quelled, given that the markets have factored in the Fed cutting interest rates in September and with more easing anticipated over the following 12 months.

On 13 August, the Global Investment Committee held an extraordinary session to review the impact of recent volatile market movements. We maintain our central scenario for positive GDP growth in most major economies, although we see heightened downside risks to our US GDP growth outlook.

India remains the long-term growth story in Asia and continues to attract fresh investment flows. China, on the other hand, has become the value play waiting for positive catalysts to turnaround sentiment.

We expect the broader trend of easing global yields, prompted by expectations for the Fed to begin lowering interest rates, to support a downward bias in Asian bond yields. We continue to favour Indian and Philippine government bonds over their regional peers.

The weak yen has played a key role in Japan’s economic recovery by boosting its corporate profits, gross national income and current account surplus. However, it may be time to consider ways Japan can retain its recovery without help from a weak yen should the financial markets eventually change direction. The need for portfolio diversification and Japan’s structural reforms are some of the factors that could incentivise investors to trim their exposure abroad and reinvest domestically.

July was a remarkably strong month for New Zealand equities, with the strength of the market partly reflecting the dovish turn taken by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand.

The Nikkei experienced its worst single-day fall early in August after reaching a record high just the previous month. Despite the recent slide, domestic factors supporting Japanese equities remain relatively unchanged, in our view. We believe that the narrative of Japan overcoming deflationary pressures due to increasing real wages is still intact.

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand stood pat on interest rates in its latest Monetary Policy Review in July, but it signalled a shift towards a more dovish stance, suggesting that a first rate cut could be conducted by the end of 2024.

We assess the extreme turbulence this week that rocked Japanese equities, which had reached record highs just last month. We discuss the factors that led to the sharp downturn at the start of the week and consider what could be in store for the market, including prospects for recovery.

A few weeks ago, we began experimenting with the hypothesis that households – and even some governments – were starting to reassess their long-term income expectations. Years of weak productivity growth, concerns over economic efficiency, the cost of living, the climate and troublesome geopolitics are all likely weighing on confidence in the future, along with the seemingly changed outlook for interest rates.

Japan Equity Investment Director Junichi Takayama explains how active management can help identify opportunities, particularly within the small and mid-cap markets.

Although market volatility resurfaced in the early part of the April-June quarter as interest rate cuts in the US began to look less likely amid higher-than-expected inflation, risk assets bounced back and rallied strongly later in the quarter. This reflected signs of softness in the US economy, which made it more likely that the Fed would be able to cut interest rates.

We retained both our overweight to growth assets and our neutral position on defensives. The outlook for growth remains positive as global central banks have started monetary easing, with Europe and Canada leading the way by cutting their interest rates.

Japan, a nation of “cash-rich” companies, is undergoing corporate reforms aimed at raising valuation of companies by improving their capital efficiency. The reforms, along with cash-rich companies' historical outperformance and strategic options due to their ample cash holdings, make these firms well worth exploring.

In China, we await confirmation of real, positive fundamental change before increasing our confidence towards the country, and we maintain a highly selective approach. Elsewhere, a combination of AI-induced excitement and positive structural reforms has driven Asian markets higher, particularly in Taiwan, South Korea and India.

We favour South Korean, Indian and Philippine government bonds and have adopted a neutral stance on Indonesian bonds. Meanwhile, the fundamentals backdrop for Asian credit remains supportive.

A look back at the past six months reveals the extent to which New Zealand’s equity market has missed out on the strength seen in many other global markets. Amid these struggles, however, the New Zealand market’s sensitivity to interest rates also offers a note of hope.

Given the current weakness in New Zealand’s economy, the key question regarding interest rates is not so much the direction they will take but when they are likely to be cut. The struggles seen in the economy span from GDP to employment and look set to persist for some time.

This month we focus on the surge in long-term JGB yields and whether it poses a threat to equities; we also discuss the potential upside for Japan’s small- and mid-cap stocks.

Asian small caps, ranging from “indie” cosmetics brands to bicycle manufacturers, present a chance to get involved with the future economic powerhouses of the world. The strategic positioning, high growth potential, adaptability, and innovation of Asian small caps make them a compelling choice.

The US and most other authorities’ reaction to the Global Pandemic was to flood the financial system with cash, principally via the act of central banks buying government bonds. The sums involved were massive, in part because the authorities understandably did not know “just how bad the crisis would be” but also because there was a need in March 2020 to ensure that some financial institutions that were “the wrong side” of the bond market did not perish.

Recently, China has been frequently appearing in global headlines, although many of these stories are not particularly encouraging. Amidst a fixation with the slowdown in the world’s second-largest economy, global markets may be missing the obvious, quieter China trade.

Our central scenario is for positive GDP growth in most major economies, with mild upside risks to growth in all regions but Europe. Within this central scenario, we anticipate range-bound inflation with a gradual disinflationary trend in the US and Europe. We expect reflation to continue in Japan and also to pick up in China.

Markets have continued their strong growth through 2024, as odds continue to grow that central banks are able to walk the tight rope and avoid any real slowdown of global growth. US inflation has remained above expectations. However, some marginal softness is now appearing to flow through consumer spending and employment.

The early economic cycle dynamics and cheap valuations in Asia contrast starkly with the expensive late cycle dynamics in the West, and we expect this to provide good diversification options for global investors.

We have shifted to a mildly positive stance on overall duration, preferring high-yield markets such as India, Indonesia and the Philippines. We expect Asia credit to remain well-supported due to subdued net new supply as issuers continue to access cheaper onshore funding.

The Bank of Japan maintained interest rates at its June meeting, disappointing market participants who expected a reduction in monthly bond purchases. The BOJ signalled a future reduction in bond purchases but only at the next policy meeting in July, without providing further guidance on possible rate hikes or balance sheet reductions.

New Zealand's fixed income market has struggled so far in 2024 and inflation has remained high. However, there is growing confidence that the Reserve Bank of New Zealand will lower the Official Cash Rate in the next six to 18 months due to a slowing economy, with the expectation that inflation will retreat to the central bank's target range by the end of 2024.

New Zealand’s equity market is currently facing challenging times. However, a sense that the country’s interest rates may have peaked are some of the indications that the market’s outlook may brighten.

In the 2024 Indian parliamentary elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's BJP won fewer seats than expected. However, with support from pre-alliance partners, Prime Minister Modi will lead a coalition government for a third term, indicating a public desire for policy continuity and reform. While economic fundamentals are strong, the election results also reflect rural distress and the need for job creation, suggesting the government may focus on expanding the manufacturing sector, infrastructure development and digitalisation.

This month we look beyond Japan’s impressive dividends and share buybacks from the perspective of corporate governance reform; we also explain how the “quantity effect” associated with exports may reduce the relevance of currency levels.

In the days immediately following 9-11, markets understandably fretted that consumer spending would collapse as people would be too scared to go out. In fact, spending picked up – even the author’s usually frugal spending increased.

As the market comes to grips with the US rate structure potentially remaining high, we expect to see increased market volatility and a potential return of the positive correlation between bond and equities that was evident in the market through 2022.

The ongoing weakness in the yen has led to intense debate over whether Japan can cope with further challenges to its global purchasing power. Although it is a matter of concern, a weak currency isn't necessarily undermining Japan's economic recovery. That said, a prolonged downtrend for the yen warrants vigilance as it could destabilise the economic recovery by triggering inflation.

In terms of duration exposure, we maintain a positive outlook for medium-term duration, finding the current yield levels attractive. We expect Asia credit to remain well-supported due to subdued net new supply as issuers continue to access cheaper onshore funding.

What a difference a month can make. Discussions have pivoted from interest rate cuts in the US to the possibility of an increase, while Chinese equities have rallied sharply on a combination of attractive value and hopes of effective policy implementation.

Despite the decline in one- and two-year inflation expectations, we feel that the longer term picture is likely to be dominated by broader secular forces, or prolonged trends not necessarily tied to cyclical factors, that structurally drive inflation.

The US presidential election in November continues to cast a long shadow, and as the race between the 45th (Donald Trump) and 46th (incumbent Joe Biden) presidents quickens, divisions have only widened. The investment world is no exception, and one particularly troubling battleground is the growing regulatory divide regarding ESG reporting.

New Zealand is seeing its first set of climate-related disclosures. Under this regime which began in January 2023, large organisations release "climate statements" about the potential impact of their operations on the climate and vice versa, according to standards set by the country’s External Reporting Board.

This month we analyse why the influence of capex and wages on spending behaviour are key to gauging whether an inflationary mindset is taking hold among households; amid an adjustment by Japanese stocks from record highs, we also look for growth narratives to sustain a long term uptrend.

This may appear an odd question to ask given the recent slew of poor inflation data points that have been released but we suspect that “all is not quite as it seems” within bond markets, or even the global economy. First, the inflation story.

Naomi Fink recently joined Nikko Asset Management as a Global Strategist based in Tokyo. We sat down with Naomi to discuss her personal relationship with Japan, and to hear her views on arguably the most talked-about investment region in the world at present.

Dreams have a place in the world. However, in stock markets, cashflows often serve as gravity when share prices display dream-like behaviour. Fortunately, our Future Quality philosophy, coupled with our consistent process of reviewing the portfolio and ranking stocks, will help us separate dreams from reality. As a result, the portfolio is performing well, especially due to stock selection outside of AI and across all sectors.

The Bank of Japan kept interest rates steady as expected while upping its CPI forecast, paving the way for future rate hikes. Any further hawkish stance by the BOJ may depend on the persistence of positive real wages and inflation's impact on consumer purchasing power.

Inflation uncertainty seems increasingly entrenched, which is less kind to developed market sovereign bonds. The US fiscal deficit is very large, and the Federal Reserve (Fed) is now in the challenging position of deciding when to cut rates. Energy remains a good hedge in this environment, and gold is increasingly being recognised as a store of value.

The Chinese economy and its equity market continue to be significant focal points in broader Asia. Additional support measures, combined with a recalibration of market expectations, have helped Chinese equities recover from the panic selling witnessed towards the end of 2023 and into January. As a result, fundamental strengths are being recognised in certain areas.

We maintain a positive outlook for Asian local government bonds, particularly those from India, Indonesia and the Philippines. In our view, the disinflation trends in these countries should provide their central banks with the flexibility to shift towards rate cuts later in the year.

We highlight the importance of making decisions based on probabilities and the best expected outcomes, assessing relevant information and acting ahead in constantly changing market conditions.

The Bank of Japan (BOJ) lifted interest rates for the first time in 17 years in March, making a historic departure from negative interest rates. We provide an overall evaluation of its decision, discuss how long accommodative monetary conditions could still last, analyse the yen’s potential policy impact and assess the BOJ’s options after halting ETF purchases.

The Global Investment Committee sees robust corporate earnings, firm employment and expectations for rate cuts keeping markets more buoyant than anticipated by average consensus estimates.

Major “events” in markets have been caused by wrong assumptions over mathematical relationships. The Long Term Capital Management Debacle (LTCMD) in 1998 was primarily the result of the incorrect assumption of perfect markets by a cluster of Nobel Laureates. The naïve and wrong assumptions over correlations proved to be the spectacular undoing of the mortgage markets in 2007-8.

We remain very strong supporters of the healthcare sector. In addition to the well-known demographic drivers, innovation is enabling structural changes in healthcare delivery and in our view these changes will confer years of strong organic growth opportunities if we choose the right companies.

Japanese households, long under-invested in financial markets, are expected to play a significant part in the country’s “virtuous circle” of reflation as they seek returns capable of keeping up with inflation.

The stage is now set for a Biden versus Trump rematch in November. So, what does this mean for sustainable bonds?

Improving economic dynamics defy conventional logic of what one would expect from one of the most aggressive tightening cycles in history. However, if one considers the magnitude of the 2020 expansion in money supply, there is still significant excess liquidity, perhaps transmitting to resilient demand and cash flow that so far exceeds the headwinds of higher rates.

We think that there could be some short-term rebound in China as valuations are in extreme oversold territory. However, for the rally to be more sustainable, we are monitoring for a few drivers, including supply-side measures that can resolve China’s main housing issues.

We maintain a positive outlook for Asian local government bonds, particularly India, Indonesia and Philippine bonds. In our view, the disinflation trends in these countries should provide the Reserve Bank of India, Bank Indonesia and Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas with the flexibility to shift towards rate cuts later in the year.

The Asian REIT market is the second-largest REIT market globally, but there is still plenty of room for growth. As REIT regulations and listing processes become increasingly market-friendly in newer REIT markets, we expect more asset owners to securitise their real estate into REIT products, driving greater investor interest.

The “trial balloons” of media announcements in advance of today’s interest rate hike by the Bank of Japan —its first in 17 years—apparently did their job, as the end of its negative interest rate policy, yield curve control and ETF purchases were smoothly digested by markets.

The green bond market has experienced tremendous growth since 2007, but despite its rapid success, there are still barriers to overcome. In particular, assessing the impact of green bonds continues to be a contentious topic.

Japan equity was the best-performing asset class in 2023, but despite the Nikkei reaching all-time highs in 2024, Japan also recently experienced economic contraction. Against that backdrop, Japan Equity Investment Director Junichi Takayama offers five reasons why Japan’s economic resurgence still has ample runway.

We visited Vietnam in February and found that business and economic prospects have turned around completely for the better from a year ago. Interest rates have normalised, and mortgage terms are the most favourable that we have ever seen in Vietnam.

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) maintained the Official Cash Rate (OCR) at 5.5% at its latest Monetary Policy Committee meeting on 28 February, meaning that New Zealand’s interest rates have now been kept on hold for over nine months. We agree with the RBNZ’s decision to keep the OCR unchanged and feel that most indicators are moving in the central bank’s favour.

This month we focus on the prospect of Japanese stocks sustaining their upward trajectory after reaching record highs; we also assess how the country’s Q4 GDP contraction sharpens the focus on consumption and wages in 2024.

Currently, the US economy is stuttering. Headline growth during the latter half of 2023 was extremely rapid – GDP growth averaged more than twice the economy’s 20-year average - but this strong activity was led by the public sector, either directly through government investment or indirectly via the authorities’ support for household incomes.

One of Japan’s more recent economic releases made us sit up and take notice. Within the very resilient Q4 capital expenditure figures released this week was one important reinforcing indicator of Japan’s structural recovery, or in the Bank of Japan’s language, its “virtuous circle” of reflation. One near-term positive development for Japan is the very real possibility that the “technical recession” in Japan Q4 GDP (down 0.4% quarter-on-quarter) could be, thanks to unexpectedly strong Q4 capex, revised away.

This is the “swan song” of this report, which comes at an appropriate time because it was always meant to prove to readers that corporate governance, and the overall case for investing in Japanese equities, was sound. Now that the market’s performance and global enthusiasm for Japan has swelled, there is less need for the report, although it is useful to note the continuance of its impressive trend.

We explain how reflationary dynamics underpin the foundations of Japan’s incipient structural recovery and illustrate why we believe the country’s equity comeback should not be written off as another flash-in-the-pan cyclical upturn headed for an eventual return to deflationary dynamics.

The seemingly impossible soft landing on the back of one of the most aggressive monetary tightening cycles in history is looking not just possible, but increasingly probable. US data is coming in stronger and global demand is generally steady with increasing channels of potential upside.

Our economic system is based on a model of take, make and waste that consistently over-utilises and fails to replenish Earth’s valuable, but dwindling resources. The need to transform how we interact with nature creates a major opportunity for the green bond universe. So far, issuers have successfully embraced funding the transition toward carbon neutrality, but far fewer are looking at regenerative biodiversity projects or initiatives that seek to protect our ecosystems from loss.

Although once-in-a-generation exceptional weather events now risk becoming alarmingly routine, there is still time to turn the tide. This need for immediate action is why we define climate change as an investment megatrend, and we believe Green and Sustainable Bonds have a vital role to play.

Our Future Quality investment philosophy revolves around identifying companies that have pricing power, possess management teams that invest will appropriately, boast strong balance sheets and offer opportunities that are not yet priced in by the market. This approach will remain constant in 2024 although we are also acutely aware of the significant impact energy security will have on global decarbonisation efforts.

The Indian market remains attractive. It has the highest earnings growth in the Asian region, valuations that are in the middle of its historic range and an economy that is growing strongly with inflation under control.

Despite continued struggles with inflation in New Zealand and elsewhere, our view is that the RBNZ’s next change to the OCR is likely to be downward, albeit at a later timing than the market has recently been expecting.

We view 2024 with optimism—markets could begin to be driven by company earnings rather than by inflation outcomes and interest rate expectations as they have in the past year, and New Zealand’s market is well placed to shrug off volatility experienced in 2023.

We expect an anticipated decrease in developed market bond yields, coupled with enhanced foreign inflows, to bolster demand for Asian bonds. We see Asia credit remaining well supported with subdued net new supply as issuers continue to access cheaper onshore funding.

The emergence of AI has dramatically shifted the future pathway for the technology sector, and our research has found that this emerging structural trend chimes with our Future Quality principles.

While fixed income issuance has become a standard mechanism for governments and companies to raise finance, it often lacks a defined purpose. However, the growing trend of responsible investing is changing that. The need to tackle our planet’s many climate, environmental and societal challenges is reuniting fixed income with its sense of purpose.

This month we discuss how emerging growth narratives such as semiconductors may come into focus in 2024; we also assess the slightly hawkish turn the BOJ took at its January policy meeting.

Last year, global investors turned their attention firmly towards Japan as a way of increasing their Asia exposure while avoiding perceived geopolitical and regulatory risks linked to China, and amid the high inflation environment dominating western economies. But this year, Japan’s success is more based on its own merits.

The US economy continues to look robust, so we have stayed constructive on growth assets and short maturity global credit where yields are attractive. We still believe that the path to 2% inflation in the US is relatively unclear. If anything, our conviction on this point has increased because easier financial conditions may ultimately pave the way for the return of sticky inflation.

The peaking of interest rates and potentially the US dollar could be a boon for broader markets—particularly those more sensitive to liquidity, countries with more room to ease rates and areas where positive fundamental changes have been overlooked. China’s economy is undergoing a major transition into one that promotes advanced manufacturing, technology, self-sufficiency and higher-end overseas growth. These are areas of our focus.

We expect macro and corporate credit fundamentals across Asia ex-China to stay resilient due to fiscal buffers although slower economic growth seems to loom over the horizon.

This month we discuss why the equity market is relatively unaffected by the political scandal shaking Japan’s ruling party; we also assess how 2024 could become an inflection point in the country’s “savings to investments” drive.

In my experience, there is nothing so powerful for asset markets as an “unquantifiable positive story and a tonne of liquidity”. Russell Napier’s Library of Mistakes in Edinburgh looks brilliantly at some of the madness that has taken hold of financial markets over the centuries (well worth a visit if you are ever nearby), and of course Edward Chancellor’s Devil take the Hindmost is the seminal text on the subject of credit-financed investment madness, but I have seen my fair share of mad booms firsthand.

Although we believe that the prospects for the economy remain mostly unchanged, the outlook is softer at the margins, perhaps reflecting the tightening of financial conditions seen during the recent months. Over the past month, however, financial conditions have eased considerably on the assumption of impending rate cuts.

Given the volume of quality defensive companies with relatively high dividend yields, higher for longer interest rates are a significant headwind for New Zealand’s equity markets. Alongside these, the country’s globally-focused export companies will be looking for the global growth story to play out positively, but for the meantime will at least be enjoying a relatively weak New Zealand dollar.

Japan may not be known for quick, sweeping reforms. However, developments in the country’s corporate governance over the last 10 years suggest that once changes are set in motion, they can have a deep and lasting impact, raising the value of its companies and creating investment opportunities along the way.

We expect poor 1Q24 returns for MSCI World after the 4Q23 surge, but a more positive trend for the rest of 2024. Regionally, we much prefer Japan in the year ahead. Our view on global bonds for USD-based investors is that they are preferred during much of the 1H, but only marginally attractive in the 2H.

We expect sentiment toward Asia’s bond markets to turn increasingly positive in 2024. We also expect macro and corporate credit fundamentals across Asia ex-China to stay resilient on the back of fiscal buffers, although slower economic growth appears to loom over the horizon.

Despite short-term negatives, we believe that China continues to offer ample long-term growth opportunities as the country pivots towards advanced manufacturing and technology. Elsewhere, some of the best growth stories globally could be found in India and Indonesia, while Taiwan and South Korea are expected to continue benefitting from a modest upcycle as the semiconductor industry recovers.

We discuss how a bullish year for Japan equities has brought what was previously out of sight into view and analyse focal points for the market as we head into 2024; we also assess how focusing on efficiency and growth could be the way forward for Japan given its projected drop in the GDP rankings.

Our investment themes for 2024 focus on key features of a world in transition. They include higher-for-longer rates, production shortages in natural resources and the search for new sources of productivity. Transitions are never easy, and features of the old world accustomed to low rates may not make it. We believe that some of these old-world features could pose systemic risks as “creative destruction” does not always run smoothly.