World events, business developments and political changes can all impact what’s top of mind in the institutional investment world. eVestment’s Advantage screening data, compiled daily, can help surface in real-time how those events are impacting what the investment community is looking at, which can have wide-ranging short- and long-term implications.
Aberdeen
For instance, the early March announcement that Aberdeen Asset Management and Standard Life plan to merge was followed by a spike in views of both firms’ products by eVestment users, according to eVestment’s just-released Advantage Investment Viewership Report for March 2017.
Following the announcement, Aberdeen Asset Management: Emerging Markets Equity continued to hold the No. 1 most viewed product spot on the global user list, while the Standard Life Investments: Global Absolute Return Strategy (GARS) GTAA moved up nine spots in the global rankings to sit at second place. Two more Aberdeen strategies, Aberdeen Asset Management: Global Equity and Aberdeen Asset Management: US Equity Large Cap Core also entered the top 10 on the global list in March.
Aberdeen and Standard Life products held the top three spots on the list of products with the greatest month-over-month increase in views by global users and held five of the top 10 spots on that list. Interest in the products came most strongly from eVestment users in the United States and the United Kingdom, as highlighted on the sub-group lists.
The Advantage Investment Viewership Report, generated through the eVestment Advantage solution, is based on tracking daily eVestment user reviews of investment universes and products on eVestment. The report looks at Global, United States, United Kingdom, Europe ex-UK and Asia-Pacific profile viewership activity among the investors, consultants, asset managers and other investment professionals who use eVestment.
Some other interesting points from the report include:
- Alternative investment products only appeared on the Europe ex-UK and UK top 20 lists. Strong hedge funds returns, as noted in eVestment’s most recent hedge fund performance report, and uncertainty around upcoming European elections may be prompting eVestment users in the United Kingdom and Europe to look more closely at alternatives to hedge against an uncertain future.
- Canadian universes attracted attention in March. Month-over-month change in average reviews per product within a given universe shows Canadian Mortgage Fixed Income and Canadian Income Trusts coming in at first and second, respectively, on the list of global user views. Among the four sub-regions highlighted, Canadian universes were most popular among Asia-Pacific users.
- Global products dominated both UK top 20 lists – overall views and month-over-month change in views – perhaps indicating UK users’ rising interest in global opportunities during March in anticipation of British Prime Minister Theresa May signing Article 50, triggering formal Brexit negotiations, which occurred in late March.
To see lists of the top universes and products overall and those that saw the largest uptick in month over month reviews, please click here.
Article by Mark Scott, eVestment
