Viewpoints from Manulife Investment Management

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Liability-driven investing and climate risk: facing reality one step at a time
One of the reasons retirement plan sponsors use LDI is to minimize unrewarded risks. As climate data accessibility and reliability improve, climate risk is an increasingly important risk to understand. Our LDI team explains the potential impact of climate change on corporate bonds and how to mitigate the related risk.
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Three themes shaping asset allocation in H2 2023
The global economy and financial markets proved to be more resilient than expected in the first half of the year. Should investors expect a repeat performance in H2 2023? One asset allocator shares his views.
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Beyond the Fed’s hawkish “pause”: three macro elements to consider
The U.S. Federal Reserve kept rates steady at its June meeting. But looking deeper, there are implications for investors.
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The pause before the pivot: positioning bond portfolios for an evolving policy landscape
After aggressive tightening from central banks and a broad repricing of risk, yields in the bond market are now higher than they've been in more than 15 years. The question investors now face is how to position portfolios given today's abundant opportunities—but also in light of the growing risks and looming policy shifts on the horizon.
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Five factors influencing the effectiveness of a 60/40 portfolio
We take a look at 5 macroeconomic factors that may influence the effectiveness of a 60/40 investing approach.
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Default or not, 2011’s debt ceiling battle is instructive for today’s investors
With the U.S. government again bumping up against its debt ceiling and trying to avert a potential default, investors may wish to review how a similar battle in 2011 delivered a short-term blow to financial markets.
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Assessing risks as banks face new pressures—and the end of easy money
Recent stresses on U.S. and European banks have made it increasingly clear to us that the era of easy money is over. Here are five potential risks to the global banking system that we’re monitoring in this new environment.
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The bar to stop hiking is probably lower than the bar to cut rates
Concerns about financial stability may not have stopped the Fed from raising rates; however, there's a growing sense that we're now closer to—if not already at—the end of the U.S. rate-hike cycle.
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Bank failures—unexpected events make investment decisions difficult
Events like the U.S. and European bank failures raise a key question. What should investors do during volatile times like these? Looking back at the last few years might give us an idea about how to discuss this with investors who may be uneasy or fearful.
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Regional bank failures create potential risks and opportunities for investors
The failure of several banking entities in just a few days has spurred extraordinary measures from U.S. regulators, but investors remain skittish. Read more on how these events shape our outlook for the banking industry.
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