NEWSLETTER of March 28, 2025

The following content has been added at finexpert:

EY
THE 2025 GLOBAL INSURANCE OUTLOOK
Even as shifting global dynamics challenge insurers, the 2025 Global Insurance Outlook (pdf) shows there have never been more viable paths to innovation-led growth across the industry. Indeed, the huge gaps in protections against cyber and climate threats – with 99% of losses from cyberattacks and 60% from natural disasters uninsured – plus the massive shortfall in retirement savings present compelling value creation opportunities. Strategically orienting the enterprise around richer data and fully modernized technology is one critical step. >more

PwC
EMISSIONSMARKT DEUTSCHLAND: RUHIGES AUFTAKTQUARTAL IM EMISSIONSMARKT: KEINE ERSTNOTIZ, KAUM KAPITALERHÖHUNGEN
The first quarter of 2025 has so far been uneventful on the German issuing market: for the first time since 2020, the Frankfurt Stock Exchange did not record an initial public offering (IPO) in the opening quarter. The start of the year was also remarkably quiet in terms of capital increases. These are the findings of the “Issues Market Germany” analysis, for which the auditing and consulting firm PwC records new share issues and capital increases by companies with a primary listing on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange on a quarterly basis. >more

Bank for International Settlements (BIS)
THE GLOBAL DRIVERS OF PRIVATE CREDIT
Private credit funds have increased their assets under management (AUM) from about $0.2 billion in the early 2000s to over $2,500 billion today. As private credit's footprint in the financial system develops, interest is growing among regulators and in public policy circles in understanding its drivers and attendant financial stability implications. This article explores global patterns in the growth of private credit and contributes to the literature by systematically studying its underlying drivers with detailed loan-level data. Moreover, it examines how changes in the cost of capital may have supported the growth of private credit vis-à-vis banks. >more

BCG
INFRASTRUCTURE STRATEGY 2025: HOW INVESTORS CAN GAIN ADVANTAGE AS THE ASSET CLASS MATURES
In response to the past couple of challenging years for private infrastructure investing, funds are broadening their traditional mandates, seeking out new sources of investment capital and continuing to up their operational game. Already, the results appear positive, if cautiously so. While investment activity in 2024 was still down significantly compared to the peak year of 2022, infrastructure assets under management reached an all-time high in 2024, and fundraising is up modestly from the previous year. >more

COMPENSATION CONSULTANTS: WHOM DO THEY SERVE? EVIDENCE FROM CONSULTANT CHANGES
Ryan Chacon, Rachel Gordon, and Adam S. Yore
2025
We investigate whether compensation consultants recommend excessive pay to earn repeat business by studying consultant changes. Our results show consultants’ interests are aligned with shareholders’ to appropriately pay the CEO. Boards dismiss consultants making large pay recommendation errors, particularly positive ones. However, powerful or poorly monitored CEOs interfere with such disciplinary turnover, weakening the relation. Peer groups are more likely to change with new consultant appointments. New consultants are less likely to include highly paid executives in the compensation peer group and CEO pay falls following the change. Directors earn higher votes in annual elections when they replace compensation advisors. >more

COUNTRY ROTATION AND INTERNATIONAL MUTUAL FUND PERFORMANCE
Wei Jiao, George Andrew Karolyi, and David T. Ng
2024
International equity funds attain superior subsequent performance by actively changing their country asset allocations, a new active measure we call country rotation intensity. Across funds, those that rotate country allocations with the greatest intensity on average have the highest value added. We offer evidence that a fund’s change of holdings in a country is associated with future outperformance in those specific holdings. Outperformance is concentrated on the downside when funds sell down country holdings before subsequent poor country market returns. Overall, our findings affirm that active international mutual funds have country market timing abilities. >more