NEWSLETTER of March 13, 2026

The following content has been added at finexpert:

KKR
GLOBAL WEALTH INVESTMENT PLAYBOOK
In our Q1 2026 Global Wealth Investment Playbook, we remain constructive on the year ahead, while we recognize that the cycle is more advanced. Credit losses are normalizing from extremely low levels and more of the productivity gains are now being reflected in capital market assumptions. At the same time, elevated starting valuations, tighter spreads, and a persistently positive stock–bond correlation continue to flatten the efficient frontier, reducing the effectiveness of traditional portfolio diversifiers. There are also technological gains across AI that we still need to understand better. Against this backdrop, we think it is the moment to high-grade portfolios by staying invested while emphasizing quality, diversification, and capital efficiency through sound portfolio construction. >more

ValueTrust Financial Advisors
DACH CAPITAL MARKET STUDY
ValueTrust released the 18th edition of the DACH Capital Market Study, which is created and published semi-annually by ValueTrust in cooperation with finexpert and the Institute for Accounting and Auditing. • The European risk-free rate has increased from 2.9% to 3.3% since June 2025 continuing its recent upward trend to reach its highest level in the last six years. • The implied market risk premium decreased 80 bps to 4.6% for Europe, due to lower implied market return and the increased risk-free rate. It increased 30 bps to 4.5% for Germany, 10 bps to 6.0% for Switzerland, and decreased 10 bps to 6.0% for Austria. • The DACH stock market demonstrated overall multiple expansion, with EV/Revenue, P/E and P/B increasing across the region, reflecting positive investor sentiment, and rising stock prices outpacing forecasted earnings growth. >more

KfW Research
DEUTSCHLAND: AUFSCHWUNG BEI KURZER BLOCKADE DER STRAßE VON HORMUS NOCH NICHT GEFÄHRDET
The war in the Middle East and the associated rise in oil and gas prices pose a clear risk to our growth forecast for Germany of 1.5% in 2026. In our baseline scenario, we assume a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz lasting several weeks, followed by a normalization of oil and gas prices in the course of the second quarter. In this scenario, the negative impact on growth would be minor, while inflation could be around half a percentage point higher. However, a longer blockade extending well into the second quarter would push growth below 1% this year. >more

Deutsche Bank Research
REFORM DER PRIVATEN ALTERSVORSORGE IN DEUTSCHLAND - EIN GROßER SCHRITT HIN ZUM KAPITALMARKT
The German government has initiated a fundamental reform of private pension provision in order to enable effective, cost-efficient solutions with higher returns. The reform is of crucial importance, as demographic change is placing an increasing burden on the pay-as-you-go statutory pension system, making additional private pension income indispensable. The planned new retirement savings account would move away from expensive mandatory guarantee products and allow up to 100% equity exposure. This could help channel more private savings into the higher-yielding stock market, which has the potential to be a real breakthrough for greater financial prosperity for German households in old age. >more

WHAT DRIVES CORPORATE ESG? DISENTANGLING THE IMPORTANCE OF INVESTORS AND MANAGERS
Antonino Emanuele Rizzo, Vicente J. Bermejo, and Mohammed Zakriya
2026
We study the relative importance of institutional investors and managers for corporate ESG policies. We find that investor effects are the strongest predictors of ESG performance. This result holds across individual ESG dimensions, and it is particularly pronounced for the environmental dimension. Long-term investors and those headquartered in Democratic-leaning states are most strongly associated with higher ESG performance. Additional analyses indicate that both investor selection and influence channels are at play. Overall, our findings highlight the central role of institutional investors for corporate ESG outcomes. >more

GOVERNANCE THROUGH VOTING: SHAREHOLDER RESPONSES TO MAJOR ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL INCIDENTS
Kingsley Fong, Annie Deng, and Ronald W. Masulis
2026
We examine shareholder responses to major environmental and social incidents through director elections. Our findings show that directors at firms experiencing such incidents receive 9.8% more negative votes. Shareholder dissent reduces the likelihood of future ES incidents when boards implement governance responses such as adopting ES-linked pay or enforcing CEO turnover. The results also suggest that shareholders substitute voting against directors with support for ES-related proposals. Overall, our study underscores that the effectiveness of shareholder voting is conditional on complementary board governance responses, with the two forces jointly driving improvements in future ES performance. >more