Cryptocurrency is most definitely an asset class, declares a senior Parisian banker in this special report. Despite sharp falls in value recently – leading to what’s been called the current ‘crypto winter’ – the audience at the Societe Generale Securities Services (SGSS) European Investor Summit showed a degree of support for crypto’s future. A poll showed 40% do or will allocate money to gain crypto exposure. An even higher number expressed interest in digital assets more broadly.
Of course, if we are long-term investors, we should not let the current volatility (extreme though it is) turn us away from an ‘asset class’ such as crypto – at least, not permanently. In this report, published in association with Funds Europe, we consider three of the most salient long-term themes in asset management: crypto, ESG and private markets.
These three topics were among others discussed at SGSS’s annual investor summit, held in Paris in June. The conference hosted some of the greatest minds in and around asset management.
In our report on the ‘Private Markets: Boom or Bust?’ panel, we read that private markets have entered a new era following two decades of success, which was gained against a backdrop of low interest rates. Investors are now worried about valuations – about which there is little transparency in private markets. After all, they are private…
The long-term theme resurfaced in the ESG discussion, entitled ‘Building Portfolios in an ESG World: Mission Impossible’. Investors are likely to see greater allocations to fossil fuels, given the current war in Europe, but this will probably be short-lived. The greater challenge for building ESG portfolios right now is how to square rules and regulations around ESG investing, with the practicality itself of determining the optimum ESG portfolio.
Read our full report from the SGSS European Investor Summit here.
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