News & Knowledge

2020, 10 July

Kempen's Commentary

Last week, Trump declared the coronavirus defeated. In turn, the Chinese labelled the stock market rally as a ‘healthy bull market’. And look, when I write this column, investors are swallowing it all. Share prices rise again quickly, the letter ‘V’ rules: Victory over the Virus, a V-shaped economic recovery and regularly flickering hopes for a Vaccine.

2020, 09 July

Asset Allocation Outlook July

In June, investors were confronted with the conflicting impact of an improved outlook and a sharp increase in the number of new coronavirus cases around the world. Optimism prevailed in the end; the MSCI Global Equity Index gained 2.5% and spreads on investment grade and high yield credits and emerging market debt tightened. Yields on long and short-term government bonds barely moved. The optimism was mainly felt in the first week of June.

2020, 01 July

Kempen's Commentary

Our generation goes through two important transitions, digital and sustainable. These long-term transitions are not merely an economic phenomenon. They affect the whole system and the entire structure of society. In order to be successful companies, regulators and society alike have to be aligned. This is now happening at an accelerated pace as a result of the pandemic.

2020, 30 June

Kempen Insights: Speeding up technological change

We’ve all been forced into new ways of working recently, but what will be the long-term impact of technology on client relationships in the investment sector? Here, Arif Saad, Senior Investment Strategist at Kempen, gives us some personal insights into how technology has had an impact on the way we do business, and how it might change in the future.

2020, 12 June

Kempen's Commentary

As I write this, Christine Lagarde is having another press conference. The ECB has just surpassed market expectations, which doesn’t happen too often. The Pandemic Emergency Purchase Program will be expanded (from € 750 billion to € 1,350 billion) and extended (at least until July 2021). The amounts don’t even reel our heads anymore. And the profits from the purchased bonds will continue to be reinvested until at least the end of 2022.

2020, 12 June

Asset Allocation Outlook June

May was another positive month for risky investments. Equities climbed by 4% worldwide, with gains mostly being noted in industrialised nations. Spreads on credits tightened further, especially in the high yield asset classes. Yields on emerging market debt also fell. Government bonds were largely unaffected by the positive performance of risky investments. In the US, 10-year government bond yields remained more or less unchanged, while in Germany they rose by 14 basis points. Spreads on Italian and Spanish government bonds narrowed. The positive trends on the financial markets were mainly the result of the stabilisation or decrease in the number of active corona cases, but also the enormous stimuli from central banks and governments. We have increased the risk exposure in our investment policy marginally by buying high yield European credits. Our slight underweight in equities has been maintained.

2020, 10 June

Kempen Insights: a focus on being robust and proactive

Over the last few months the coronavirus has evolved from a local epidemic to a global pandemic, having a significant impact on our lives and with governments around the globe taking drastic measures to control the human impact of Covid-19. This has led to a financial turbulence with investors concerned about the economic implications of the virus and the associated business disruption.

2020, 09 June

Kempen Real Estate Update: How will it “work” in the future?

Over the last three months we have seen the Covid-19 pandemic affect just about every part of our daily routines. It has changed the way we work, shop and most certainly play. Global listed real estate markets experienced quick and often violent corrections as investors attempted to price-in quickly changing fundamentals in the space. This has proved to be by no means an easy task as tangible transactional evidence is lackluster due to the inevitable material slowdown in leasing and investment activity. This is further complicated by the disparity in views on how long and deep the recession might be.

2020, 29 May

Global Impact Pool Quarterly

We are pleased to report on the first quarter of 2020 of Kempen’s Global Impact Pool in which we continued to deploy capital towards the Global Impact Pool’s mission, which is to make investments that positively contribute to solving global problems around the food, water and climate nexus and five Sustainable Development Goals.

2020, 29 May

Kempen's Commentary

The damage caused by the corona virus and the associated lockdowns is becoming increasingly visible. Millions of people in the US have become unemployed, and the economy in the eurozone has shrunk more than ever in the first quarter. In the Netherlands, it wasn’t as bad as in the surrounding countries, but here the worst is yet to come. In the meantime, stock markets have already recovered considerably. The massive support deals announced by governments and central banks give the investors hope. Just like the fact that the spread of the virus has reduced in most countries. The number of active cases has declined sharply in China, South Korea and Japan, and the downward trend is also undeniable in Europe. It is stable in the US, while the increase in countries such as Brazil, India and Russia is still worrying. In the Netherlands, there are hardly any new hospitalisations and the number of corona patients in the ICU is steadily decreasing.

2020, 26 May

Kempen Insights: Market update series

2020, 19 May

The Dividend Letter

Will companies keep paying dividend during this crisis? With so much uncertainty and companies announcing dividend cuts seemingly every day, we are right to be concerned the corona-crisis will have its impact on company payouts to shareholders. In this Dividend Letter we aim to work out the impact of this crisis on our dividend strategy. History is reassuring; although dividends are not immune to recessions, they are resilient.

2020, 15 May

Kempen's Commentary

As a result of the corona crisis, 2.6 billion tons of CO2 will not see the light of day. That’s an expected decrease of 8 percent this year: some kind of light in these dark times. This estimate by the International Energy Agency (IEA) is a daily identifiable number. Roads are empty, skies are blue, and the internet is full of videos of animals in places that have long been a no-go area for them. Is this the tipping point for the transition to a sustainable economy?

2020, 01 July

Kempen Capital Management further invests in Client Solutions’ digital service offering

We are happy to report that Kempen Capital Management (Kempen) has added six specialist employees who will specifically focus on further enhancing the digital services offered by Client Solutions, with an emphasis on institutional, fiduciary clients. The knowledgeable team is based in Switzerland, and also contributes to the further development of our private banking services within Van Lanschot Switzerland.

2020, 03 June

Ernst Jansen new COO of Kempen Capital Management

Ernst Jansen has been appointed Chief Operating Officer (COO) at Kempen Capital Management (Kempen) with immediate effect.

2020, 27 May

Kempen European Private Equity Fund acquires a significant direct interest in Biofutur

The Kempen European Private Equity Fund, the private equity investment fund of Kempen Capital Management (Kempen), has acquired a significant interest in Biofutur Group (‘Biofutur’). Biofutur is a French group of laboratories specializing in blood tests and body fluid analysis.

2020, 07 May

Kempen Capital Management wins nine Lipper Fund Awards

Kempen Capital Management has won nine prizes during the annual Refinitiv Lipper Fund Awards the Netherlands. Including the prize for Best Fund house Overall (small) and the prize for Best Fund house Bonds (small).