Long regarded as abundant despite being indispensable, water was often treated as secondary to energy and climate issues, however the accelerating scarcity of this resource now makes it a fundamental challenge for the sustainability of our societies.

By expanding the range of expiries, extending trading hours and broadening hedging opportunities, US financial markets are reshaping the way investors trade and manage risk. This financial transformation extends far beyond large caps, opening up new opportunities for active management.

Over the past week, we were in Bangkok for our semiannual pilgrimage to the IMF-World Bank meetings where we held over 50 meetings with finance ministries, central banks, multilateral officials and peers in the financial sector. On the global macro front, the mood remained one of uncertainty. While the global outlook has remained relatively resilient in the context of ongoing wars in Russia-Ukraine and the Middle East, it is evident that geoeconomic fragmentation and growing fiscal challenges, alongside the AI boom, are beginning to weigh. Benefitting from their recent history of prudent policies, emerging markets continue to muddle through the shocks.