Asset management.

Engagement – whether financial or ESG-related, individual or collective – concerns all investors, whether active or passive. It is one of the three pillars of stewardship policies, alongside dialogue and voting policy. On 8 June, ten investors, including Edmond de Rothschild Asset Management, published a report entitled “The VOICE Method for measuring the effectiveness and influence of engagement” under the leadership of the Forum for Responsible Investment (FIR) and with the support of academics and the PRI.

•    Despite persistent points of contention between Iran and the United States, the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and the lifting of sanctions on Iranian oil have brought crude oil prices back to their pre-war levels.
•    The US economy continues to show strong momentum, whilst the eurozone is seeing a slight rebound in economic indicators, which nevertheless remain consistent with a weak economic climate.
•    The fall in oil prices has contributed to a decline in US interest rates, though this has not boosted equities, which have been weighed down by a sell-off in technology stocks.

Edmond de Rothschild’s real estate investment management business has achieved solid progress in the attainment of its sustainability strategy. 

•    Energy prices fell and markets rose after the US and Iran signed a memorandum of understanding.
•    In the US, new Fed chairman Kevin Warsh left rates unchanged but had to withdraw mention of a “dovish bias” in the communique and China's economy is split between upbeat exports and a soft domestic picture.
•    we have gone back to neutral on US Treasuries and European government debt after this rate-easing movement (with long rates under vigilance). We are still keen on equities, a position we adopted after the sell-off at the beginning of the month.