By Sam Kerr
17 Dec 2020
European equity capital markets could be in for a bumper year, after the historic disruption of 2020. Sam Kerr reports.
For those involved in the equity capital markets, 2021 could be a year to savour. After a year that most will want to forget, the encouraging vaccine news has spurred hopes of a return to normalcy for businesses in the year ahead and that has prompted strong flows into equities in the last two months of the year.
It could be a particularly fruitful year for those in Europe. While US stock markets are dominated by tech names, which rose as remote working took off during the pandemic, Europe has more exposure to cyclical stocks the sorts of business that were hit badly as the virus took its toll. But as economies re-open these stocks are expected to benefit.
By Aidan Gregory, Sam Kerr
17 Dec 2020
Having lagged behind bonds in embracing the green agenda, the primary equity capital market came into its own in 2020. With investors more engaged in sustainability and fighting climate change, there are hopes that 2021 will be even greener. Sam Kerr and Aidan Gregory report.
Every explanation of what environmental, social and governance investing is starts by stating that it began in equity markets and has spread to bonds and other asset classes. Paradoxically, however, when it comes to new capital raising, the bond market has led the way.
While debt capital markets have been obsessed with green bonds and more recent offshoots like sustainability-linked notes for at least seven years, the equity capital market has largely ignored the subject.