As you leave for the holidays, here are some suggestions from our experts for you to read, watch, or listen to.
Sustainability is a focus, with our recommendations addressing the effects of human activity on biodiversity and marine life.
Change is another major theme, either technological or societal change, or the role of China in the global system.
Alex Bernhardt, Global Head of Sustainability Research
Breaking Boundaries: The Science Of Our Planet. This documentary by David Attenborough and scientist Johan Rockström gives an overview on biodiversity loss and how it could still be prevented. You might want to read Johan Rockström’s Investment Symposium Series – Biodiversity, food and health: The crucial pieces of the 1.5°C jigsaw (bnpparibas-am.com) on our blog as well.
Staying with video, A Plastic Ocean – The Movie shows the devastating effects of human activity on marine life and highlights the importance of reducing single-use plastic for the health of ecosystems.
Still away from paper, the Zero – Bloomberg podcast by Akshat Rathi explores practicable policies, technologies, and investments, to tackle climate change and get to net zero emissions.
Finally, There Is No Planet B by Mike Berners-Lee is a practical and accessible book on environmental and economic challenges.
Yannick Leite Velho, Portfolio Manager Alternative Investments
In Principles for Dealing with The Changing World Order: Why Nations Succeed and Fail, Ray Dalio explores the shifts in the global economic and political landscape, analysing historical patterns and cycles to understand the evolving world order. By combining key factors and topics such as the impact of technology, societal and cultural change, as well as resource allocation and distribution, he offers readers a comprehensive understanding of the implications that shifts in the world order may have on various aspects of life and business.
Fabien Benchetrit, Portfolio Manager Alternative Investments
The 2015 book The Signal and the Noise: Why So Many Predictions Fail – but Some Don’t by Nate Silver remains relevant, offering a detailed review of the best forecasters in multiple fields: from hurricanes, to baseball, to poker, to pandemics and financial markets. His goals are to 1. Understand how the best forecasters differentiate signal from noise (as we aim to do in investing); 2. Identify commonalities among the best forecasters. A sneak peek: It is about mastering probabilities…
Adam Kanzer, Head of Stewardship, Americas
In Moving Beyond Modern Portfolio Theory: Investing that Matters, Jon Lukomnik and James P. Hawley discuss how MPT has taught investors to accept beta (market risk) and focus on alpha, but note that the most significant positive and negative portfolio impacts come from beta and that investors do have tools to manage beta.
The Darkness Manifesto: On Light Pollution, Night Ecology, and the Ancient Rhythms that Sustain Life by Johan Eklöf presents a fascinating account of the importance of the cycles of light and darkness for all life and how artificial light is disturbing ecosystems and impacting human health. It is an overlooked aspect of the nature crisis that deserves more attention.
Peter Abbott, Head of Team, European Equity Large Cap
Pegasus: How a Spy in Your Pocket Threatens the End of Privacy, Dignity, and Democracy by Laurent Richard and Sandrine Rigaud is the story behind the eponymous and controversial spyware that has been blacklisted by the US government. If you think your communications are secure, think again.
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