Global Asset Allocation, Politics & Governance, Ecstrat

John-Paul Smith

Global Asset Allocation, Politics & Governance

Ecstrat

Ecstrat is a consultancy advising on asset allocation between global equity markets, with a focus on the intersection of governments, geopolitics, governance and markets.
 
Over the past few years and more especially since the Great Financial Crisis (GFC), investors have become more focused on short-term market movements and real-time returns and have consequently neglected the analysis of the underlying structural themes that underpin longer term performance.
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More specifically we believe that the evolution of governance-based relationships between investors, controlling shareholders, labour and the state is one of the primary determinants of both relative and absolute performance between individual equity markets.
 
We will endeavour to provide investors with some of the context surrounding governance-related issues which encompass many different disciplines including history, economics and political science, as well as the financial metrics which are the most obvious manifestation of the structural characteristics of each market.
 
We will pay particular attention to the shifts and potential inflection points for governance in individual markets as these are often the best lead indicators for both economic and market performance.

Cross Asset Strategy

Our bearish outlook for 2016 predicated on the rising risk of a “sudden stop” for China and uncontrolled FX depreciation across EM is unfortunately starting to play out; although markets currently feel very oversold and could rally sharply over the short term, we believe that there is further downside for EM equities in absolute and relative terms over the remainder of the year.

Our bearish outlook for 2016 predicated on the rising risk of a “sudden stop” for China and uncontrolled FX depreciation across EM is unfortunately starting to play out; although markets currently feel very oversold and could rally sharply over the short term, we believe that there is further downside for EM equities in absolute and relative terms over the remainder of the year.

Leading Independent Investment Research, Morningstar, Inc.

Morningstar

Leading Independent Investment Research

Morningstar, Inc.

Morningstar, Inc. is a leading provider of independent investment research in North America, Europe, Australia, and Asia. We offer an extensive line of products and services for individual investors, financial advisors, asset managers, and retirement plan providers and sponsors. 

Morningstar provides data on more than 500,000 investment offerings, including stocks, mutual funds, and similar vehicles, along with real-time global market data on more than 16 million equities, indexes, futures, options, commodities, and precious metals, in addition to foreign exchange and Treasury markets. Morningstar also offers investment management services through its investment advisory subsidiaries, with more than $180 billion in assets under advisement or management as of June 30, 2015. We have operations in 27 countries.

Download the Morningstar Fact Sheet : http://corporate.morningstar.com/US/documents/MarketingFactSheets/AboutMorningstarFactsheet.pdf

Thematic (Sector/Industry)

<ul><li class="p1">Seismic changes are affecting the consumer packaged goods industry as consumers are becoming less brand loyal and supermarkets are under attack from hard discounters and online competition.</li><li class="p1">The prolonged period of slow economic growth has conditioned consumers to be more price sensitive, and the emergence of the e-commerce channel is rapidly changing consumers' shopping behaviours.</li><li class="p2">In our opinion, the strongest antidote to these pressures is a strong brand.</li><li class="p2">In this report, we quantify the power of each company's brand by its ability to take pricing, using a number of metrics, and conclude that while brand strength varies widely across the consumer packaged goods space, beverages and tobacco generally enjoy stronger positions.</li><li class="p2">We also dive deep into cost advantages and show that while some of the large diversified CPG firms may generate economies of scope, economies of scale are more prevalent in industries with a homogeneous manufacturing process.</li></ul>Lead Analysts: Adam Fleck, CFA; Philip Gorham, CFA, FRM; R.J. Hottovy, CFA; Erin Lash, CFA; Ken Perkins, CFAFull report below the fold...&nbsp;

Seismic changes are affecting the consumer packaged goods industry as consumers are becoming less brand loyal and supermarkets are under attack from hard discounters and online competition.The prolonged period of slow economic growth has conditioned consumers to be more price sensitive, and the emergence of the e-commerce channel is rapidly changing consumers' shopping behaviours.In our opinion, the strongest antidote to these pressures is a strong brand.In this report, we quantify the power of each company's brand by its ability to take pricing, using a number of metrics, and conclude that while brand strength varies widely across the consumer packaged goods space, beverages and tobacco generally enjoy stronger positions.We also dive deep into cost advantages and show that while some of the large diversified CPG firms may generate economies of scope, economies of scale are more prevalent in industries with a homogeneous manufacturing process.Lead Analysts: Adam Fleck, CFA; Philip Gorham, CFA, FRM; R.J. Hottovy, CFA; Erin Lash, CFA; Ken Perkins, CFAFull report below the fold...&nbsp;

Morningstar Consumer Observer: Shopping for the CPG Brands Best Positioned for a New Era in Commerce

Chairman, sgtradex

Tan Chin-Hwee

Chairman

The discourse on Asia&rsquo;s &ldquo;rise&rdquo; is dominated by China and India, countries whose vast populations and buoyant economies have captured the imagination of international investors, journalists and policy analysts.&ldquo;Chindia&rdquo;-scented rhetoric abounds with catchphrases that state the obvious, but whose import is less so. China has the hardware, India the software; India needs China&rsquo;s roads, China could do with India&rsquo;s political inclusiveness. Given how fundamentally different India and China are, though, such &ldquo;lessons learnt&rdquo; are of limited value.The more relevant comparison in Asia &ndash; and one with enormous implications for the global economy &ndash; is between India and its civilisational sibling, Indonesia. These two eclectic democracies share more in common than India and China, yet they are rarely hyphenated.Last year&rsquo;s elections saw the elevation of a new breed of popular leader in both countries. Narendra Modi, whose family ran a tea stall, has risen from near the bottom of India&rsquo;s caste and class hierarchies. Joko Widodo is from a similarly underprivileged background.

The discourse on Asia&rsquo;s &ldquo;rise&rdquo; is dominated by China and India, countries whose vast populations and buoyant economies have captured the imagination of international investors, journalists and policy analysts.&ldquo;Chindia&rdquo;-scented rhetoric abounds with catchphrases that state the obvious, but whose import is less so. China has the hardware, India the software; India needs China&rsquo;s roads, China could do with India&rsquo;s political inclusiveness. Given how fundamentally different India and China are, though, such &ldquo;lessons learnt&rdquo; are of limited value.The more relevant comparison in Asia &ndash; and one with enormous implications for the global economy &ndash; is between India and its civilisational sibling, Indonesia. These two eclectic democracies share more in common than India and China, yet they are rarely hyphenated.Last year&rsquo;s elections saw the elevation of a new breed of popular leader in both countries. Narendra Modi, whose family ran a tea stall, has risen from near the bottom of India&rsquo;s caste and class hierarchies. Joko Widodo is from a similarly underprivileged background.

The Rise of Asia: India and Indonesia's Shared Challenges and Opportunities.

India

Hindustan Unilever Limited manufactures and distributes consumer products. The Company offers soap, detergent, personal care products and processed food, ice creams, cooking oils, and other related products. Hindustan Unilever serves customers worldwide.

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Hindustan Unilever (HUVR IN)

China and the EM Ugly Contest

Our bearish outlook for 2016 predicated on the rising risk of a “sudden stop” for China and uncontrolled FX depreciation across EM is unfortunately...

John-Paul Smith

Morningstar Consumer Observer: Shopping for the CPG Brands Best Positioned for a New Era in Commerce

Seismic changes are affecting the consumer packaged goods industry as consumers are becoming less brand loyal and supermarkets are under attack...

Morningstar, Inc.

The Rise of Asia: India and Indonesia's Shared Challenges and Opportunities.

The discourse on Asia’s “rise” is dominated by China and India, countries whose vast populations and buoyant economies have captured the...

Tan Chin-Hwee

Price Gauge

52-week Range

Market Cap (USDm)

P/E

Dividend (Yield)