ReleaseWire Connect

The topic of private equity profits is one that has occupied lawmakers in the USA for many years. Politicians have always been keen to get hold of a bigger share of these profits and look like they could be getting closer to this goal. A new proposal that has been created by Democratic lawmakers would potentially increase tax rates on so-called carried interest products and also lengthen how long general partners are required to hold an asset before they can have access to a favorable tax rate.

Some of the biggest pension and investment funds in the world have announced a new goal to cut the emissions of their portfolio holdings by 25% by 2025. The group of 29 includes Allianz and the California Public Employees Retirement System and is following in the footsteps of many recent announcements of this kind across the financial services industry. Part of the reason for this wave of commitments is the urgency of taking action - as global greenhouse emissions need to drop by 50% by 2030, the time in which effective action can be taken is shrinking.

Machine learning has an increasingly big role to play in analysis for quantitative investors. While this technology continues to be viewed as embryonic and still isn't that widely used, it has application throughout the investment process as well as the potential to generate a broad range of quantitative analytics jobs. Machine learning in this field applies data-driven computer applications that can learn how to complete complex tasks to one of the most sophisticated areas of finance.

The credibility of insurance organizations is increasingly being tied into the sustainability approach of the business. AXA has been something of a pioneer in this field and was the first insurer to restrict underwriting coal projects in 2017. The move garnered widespread praise for the business from climate campaigners but also put AXA under something of a spotlight. Now, the insurer is being urged to take action in terms of its commitments to oil and gas.

As the use of cloud infrastructure continues to grow at an exponential rate, cloud security is becoming an increasingly crucial factor for companies across the globe to consider. The move towards the cloud as part of a global digital revolution is inexorable, leading to a surge in the demand for experienced cyber security experts.

Bitcoin has made huge strides in 2020-21 - it's now accepted legal tender in companies like Starbucks and was adopted as legal currency by El Salvador earlier this year. The growing mainstream acceptance of bitcoin has forced central banks to accelerate their own digital currency initiatives - CBDCs. These are basically digital versions of existing national currencies and are designed to compete with bitcoin etc.

Python has long been the programming language of choice for backtesting - and a recently published paper revealing it has the potential to become up to five times faster indicates that this is likely to be the case for some time. Python is the most popular systemic trading language globally - when it first arrived on the scene in the 90s it was unknown and used by only a few trading companies.

Despite the issues and obstacles of the past 12 months the asset management industry has continued to grow. In fact, figures released over the summer indicate that it actually reached $103 trillion in assets under management at the end of 2020. Institutional investments represent just over half of this figure while retail portfolios account for around $42 trillion. Investment in private markets increased 12% annually as of September last year and this asset class is being highlighted as one that represents a major opportunity going forward.

Of all the factors that are relevant to future profitability, environmental, social and governance are relatively new to the table. However, now asset and wealth managers are being encouraged to think beyond the performative elements of diversity and inclusion and see how it provides the foundation for a more sustainable business model.

The issue of taxes and cryptocurrencies is one that has received a lot of airtime - but not that much action - in recent years. However, now there is a real incentive to ensure that crypto investors are paying taxes when selling those investments, as Congress is considering strengthening reporting requirements.