Equity pension plans rely on technology and their prospects are positive in the medium term

Recent news about the early availability of Pfizer’s vaccine and increasing clarity about the outcome of the US presidential election have injected a good deal of optimism into the stock market, which has taken the bullish path again.

And not precisely in the sectors most benefited by the pandemic. Last week there were increases in airlines, cruise lines and retailers, while telecommunication, consumer staples and software services lagged.

The VDOS category of USA International Variable Income pension plans , largely supported by the evolution of technology throughout the year, is the second most profitable in the year (3.23%), only behind Variable Income Emerging International (4.22%).

Of a selection of these five- and four-rated VDOS plans, the most profitable so far this year is ALLIANZ USA with an advance of 5.50 percent. At one year, it revalues ​​by 11.76 percent, with a fairly controlled volatility of 20.08 percent, which places it in the second best group for this concept.

Portfolio management takes the Standard & Poor’s 500 index as a reference, which represents the stock market performance weighted by capitalization of the 500 largest companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Exposure to currency risk is normally 100 percent in US dollars, although the fund is denominated in euros.

It is managed using third-party funds, part of them exchange-traded funds (ETFs), with the aim of optimizing management and diversifying risk. The limits applicable to investments in this type of assets are those established by law.

The plan can also invest in derivative instruments, with hedging and investment objectives, and always subject to the limits established by law. It applies to its participants a fixed commission of 0.30 and a deposit of 0.20 percent.

5.46 percent is the profitability obtained in the year by ABANCA USA . In the last year, it revalued 9.14 percent, registering a volatility figure of 20.84 percent. It invests up to 100 percent of its net assets in equities, with the possibility of reducing its exposure in favor of investing in fixed income with a maximum of 25 percent.

Investments in equities are carried out solely and exclusively in the US stock markets, always through adequate diversification of assets from a sectorial point of view, as well as an adequate combination of high and medium capitalization assets.

Among the largest positions in its portfolio we find the E-mini S&P 500 Future futures contract (43.51%) the Kingdom of Spain issuance for 5 years (37.84%) Electricity System Deficit Securitization Fund (2, 60%) the Amundi S&P 500 UCITS fund (1.41%) and the DB X-Trackers MSCI USA UCITS 1C listed fund (1.20%).

The minimum initial and periodic contribution to subscribe and maintain this plan is 30 euros, applying to its participants a fixed commission of 1.50 percent and a deposit of 0.10 percent.

Also with a four-star rating from VDOS, NARANJA STANDARD & POORS 500 has advanced 4.17 percent in profitability since last January. In the last annual period, it revalued 6.99 percent, registering in this period a volatility figure of 22.43 percent.

Its investment policy seeks to replicate the Standard & Poor’s 500 index. Investment decisions are made according to the criteria of the management team, investing in a variety of sectors of companies listed on the S&P 500 index. Being invested in dollars, its evolution is also linked to that of the US currency.

Its largest portfolio positions include the exchange-traded funds Lyxor S&P 500 ETF D EUR (25.50%) iShares Core S&P 500 ETF USD Acc (23.55%) XTrackers S&P 500 Swap ETF 1C (21.60%) Amundi IS S&P 500 ETF C EUR (19.37%) and the E-Mini futures contract on S&P 500 (3.29%). The subscription supposes a minimum initial and periodic contribution of 0.01 euros, taxing its participants with a fixed commission of 1.25 percent.

The outlook appears to remain bullish regarding the economic recovery and the revenues that companies will earn. However, in the short term, there are still some hurdles to be aware of for the major indices, such as long-term interest rate adjustments, as many of the large-cap indices, such as the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq, they are very sensitive to movements in interest rates.

Therefore, as interest rates rise, they can weigh down the performance of the indices. We must also consider the influence on the final result of the elections in terms of the configuration of the Senate.

50 million parcel shipments. The forecasts of the UNO Logistics employer on orders during this week of Black Friday exceed 30% than last year’s deliveries.

An average of 3.5 million per day reflecting the e-commerce boom of the covid era. More purchases per inhabitant with a clear requirement: that they arrive as soon as possible and without shipping costs. Prerogatives that parcel companies struggle to make a reality in the face of the great competition that has been installed in the logistics sector.

But this comfort has a high price, both for the business fabric of our country and for all citizens. On the one hand, the demand for greater speed squeezes parcel companies due to the high cost of fulfilling this task and the free delivery of shipments suffocates SMEs, which cannot survive on these margins.

And on the other, this consumerism, especially on dates like Black Friday, increases the carbon footprint that threatens to irreparably damage the environment.

For several years, thousands of experts from various areas (parcel companies, universities, environmental associations, etc.) have invited society to reflect on the importance of promoting a sustainable consumption habit, and this implies modifying the way in which we shop by Internet and the shipping option that we select so that our packages arrive at our house.

“We have gotten used to having things in the moment. We must be aware that this has consequences for our environment.

Not everything is urgent, but taking care of the planet, yes ”, explains Elena Fernández, deputy director of International Relations, head of the Department of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Sustainability of Correos. The first step, explains the specialist, is to know what happens when we click on the fastest shipping option in an online store .

Although we have become accustomed to buying at any time and at any time of the day (one in five Americans does so when they are in the bathroom, according to research from the University of California), the logistics management of our orders obeys certain times and Very marked schedules so that parcel companies can weave effective delivery routes.

For years, online storesThey warned that buying a product (normally) after 6:00 p.m. could take another day to arrive at your door, since these businesses sent all orders for the day to the logistics centers, which then distributed them by homes.

Delivery times, by then, were around the week, with special payments for faster shipments. Acceptable circumstance for these companies. That has been broken: the normal time has been set at two days, and even 24 and sometimes 12 hours.

This desired speed of customers forces stores and delivery companies to skip those time slots and use half-filled vans or trucks to meet delivery times.

“When making an urgent shipment, we have to be aware that a greater number of vehicles are needed, since you cannot wait to receive more cargo to fill all the vans. And the technologies chosen to transport these express deliveries are not the same. that less CO 2 emits “, says Fernández.

Like most experts, Elena Fernández, Deputy Director of International Relations, Head of the Department of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Sustainability of Correos, It is clear that the massification of shipments is a severe blow to the welfare state in large cities (noise, traffic jams, pollution …).

For this reason, Correos has been working for years to transform its fleet to guarantee responsible and environmentally friendly shipments. It already has a thousand electric vehicles and five CNG (hybrids) in circulation, and hopes to incorporate another 200 electric vehicles and another 70 hybrids by the end of this year.

“It is possible to send a 100% electric rate to Barcelona. With current technology, we connect our [communication] network with the railway stations and, within 72 hours, almost any 100% electrical connection can be made ”, explains Fernández.

The expert adds that it is very important that customers are aware that excessive speed must be put aside and bet on electricity alternatives and sustainable shipments.

In fact, Correos already offers on its website, with the possibility of choosing Responsible Shipping , an option in which the company prioritizes above all a sustainable management of the order, but without losing efficiency and security.

“Giving up immediacy allows consolidating shipments, achieving maximum vehicle efficiency by bringing them to full load and reducing emissions per shipment,” explains Fernández.

This point not only affects the economy of companies (doubling logistics spending in several years with the same profit margins as five years ago is financially unviable), but it can affect our health. In fact, air pollution in large cities caused 92,672 premature deaths during the first decade of the millennium, according to the latest data analyzed in 2019 by the DKV Observatory for Health and the Environment.

Figures that indicate a period of time before the e-commerce boom and the growth of mass shipments, so in all probability the emissions are bigger now and the consequences, predictably, much worse.

Hence the importance of everyone knowing how to choose how to buy. Miguel Jaller, an expert on sustainable transport at the University of California, does not doubt that it is customers who must give companies more flexibility.

“With a five-day lead time, [companies] can wait for all products to arrive from different destinations and consolidate all shipments into, say, a full truck,” Jaller explains of the great fuel and management savings. that can be won with delivery times of one week.

Some companies have already added a tab in their Green Shipping or Responsible Shipping options ,with which it is committed to send it in a sustainable way in a longer delivery time.
“Receiving a product in 24 hours or even in 12 hours does not have a significant impact on our day to day life. However, it does have a significant impact on the environment,” says Fernández.

Another of the workhorses of packaging companies and online stores (and that also seriously affects the environment) are returns. In fact, in recent years these have grown by around 10% during the week of Black Friday, according to estimates by UNO Logística.

It is possible to think that this year they will increase due to mobility restrictions and the decrease in commerce in physical stores (up to 27% less sales, according to data from the cashbank companyiGraal, belonging to Global Savings Group).

To this is added that more and more companies offer a free returns service and also in a short period of time. This increases the use of vehicles, which generate more traffic problems and more emissions.

“Consumers have to realize that a return doubles the CO 2 emissions of a normal order. In the US alone, total returns generate a total of 15 million tons per year. In Europe the data is similar,” he warns Fernandez.

There are options to reduce this reverse logistics. For clothes, the simplest is to look for size charts on the Internet, that is, a comparative index of measurements according to the brand or store where you want to buy to get it right the first time.

There are companies that already incorporate these guides in their web stores. Of course, the option of buying the same garment in different sizes, keeping the right one and returning the rest should be discarded. For other products such as electronic devices, it is advisable to go to the physical establishment to test it and then buy it from home.

It is useless to follow the steps above if we do not investigate where the products we buy come from. That is, if they are manufactured in a sustainable way and with fair working conditions. The coloring textile plants of developing countries that use products that are harmful to the environment and child labor are well known.

A business that does not stop growing because of excessive consumerism. In contrast, there are trends such as the slowlife movement(slow life, in Spanish) that was born to promote a less busy way of life and with a more sustainable supply, with products from local businesses (or fair market) and without accumulation of unnecessary objects.

“We must not forget that this type of purchase not only improves the economy of a country, but is also more respectful of the environment. An international shipment is three times more polluting than a national one,” warns Fernández.

On the other hand, environmental associations and representatives of the European Commission have created Green Friday, an alternative to Black Friday that seeks to encourage citizens to consume less compulsive during these days.

They encourage you to spend that day in the field, with your family or, in the case of buying, to have it done in establishments with a sustainable business model. There are also other similar solidarity-based initiatives, such as Giving Tusday, which proposes to allocate financial or material aid to social causes on the first Wednesday in December.

Less than two hours by car from Madrid is the Serranía Celtiberica, a large territory that accounts for 13% of the total area of ​​Spain and extends over ten provinces distributed between Aragon, Valencia, Castilla y León, La Rioja and Castilla-La Mancha.

More than 63,000 square kilometers (twice the size of Belgium) that includes 1,632 municipalities, in which barely half a million people live. Or what is the same, 7.98 inhabitants per square kilometer.

The epicenter of this demographic wasteland is the Montes Universales region, between Teruel and Cuenca, with a lower population density than Lapland. It is the most unpopulated, most forgotten and emptiest area in Spain: 3,500 square kilometers (more or less like the province of Gipuzkoa), with 1.69 inhabitants per square kilometer.

A demographic desert inhabited by an aging population, without generational change, in which young people emigrate in the absence of job opportunities. A very similar situation is repeated in other corners of the country: Galicia, Andalusia, Extremadura, Asturias, Cantabria …

The demographic challenge is one of the great issues facing Spain. But this problem, shared by many European regions and countries, presents different peculiarities in each of them. For this reason, each state must approach it with a personalized approach, according to the EU officials.

In the case of Spain, the situation calls for the need to take action. According to the National Institute of Statistics (INE), the birth rate has decreased by 30% in the last decade. Furthermore, the number of children per woman (1,2) has also fallen by 40% in the last 10 years.

However, three out of four women would like to have at least two children, but cannot do so due to work or conciliation difficulties. If Spain continues on this path, the United Nations predicts that by 2050 it will be the second oldest country in the world, only behind Japan, with the consequent impact on productivity and growth.

These data show the need to generate a change in the management models of companies, so that they include policies to support the birth rate, such as joint responsibility and flexibility.

They also demonstrate the importance of establishing immigration policies that help, in part, to counteract the negative evolution of the Spanish demography. But the question goes much further, because it affects the future of the Welfare State itself: pensions, health care spending or job replacement.

According to the INE, the birth rate in Spain has fallen by 30% in the last decade. If it continues on this path, the United Nations predicts that by 2050 it will be the second oldest country in the world.

The president of Banco Santander, Ana Botín, has recognized on numerous occasions that “facing demographic challenges” is crucial in a society that is increasingly aware of sustainability. In fact, the bank supports and finances numerous proposals aimed at finding solutions to this problem.

Two examples are the Business Demographic Responsibility initiative (which seeks to incorporate the demographic challenge into the policies of Human Sustainability, Social Responsibility and People Management of companies), or the National Entrepreneurs Fair, which aims to establish alliances and facilitate investments in the environment. rural.

Likewise, the financial institution has opted to develop different programs aimed at promoting equality and the integration of women in the workplace.

This is the case of Santander Reencuentra , whose objective is to help those women who abandoned their professional career for family reasons to rejoin the labor market in companies in their environment.

In addition to temporary professional experience, the program includes training, coaching and mentoring actions to generate value and increase the employability of these women, who have been out of the labor market for between five and ten years.

In this first edition, one hundred women have participated. One of them is Clara Longares, who after becoming a mother saw her life change.

“You see that you cannot re-engage in anything because the worst of all is how isolated you are,” she recalls. For Clara, this Banco Santander initiative is a message of encouragement for this group, since “the important thing is to feel valued and to be active again.

There is still much to be done”. And she adds: “You have to keep believing in yourself, that is one of the biggest battles we women have. Believe that we can contribute much more than you think, that we are there with everything ”.

Another program promoted by Banco Santander headed in the same line is women with S . This mentoring initiative , which is part of the Generation 81 program, seeks to reinforce the leadership of women who want to grow in the professional field, whether to promote to a management position, start their own project or develop within their sector.

This proposal aims to unite successful women with those who pursue it, so that all are nurtured by the inspiration necessary to advance their goals.

The bank has also applied various corporate measures and equality plans in the different countries in which it operates, with the aim of achieving gender pay equity by 2025.

Work-life balance is another key issue for those responsible for the entity financial institution, which has developed minimum standards for maternity and paternity leave. The idea is to ensure that employees can balance work and life outside the office.

Likewise, Banco Santander has made available to its staff a system that allows them to make their place and working hours more flexible.

Ana Botín herself recognizes that, in order to build a more responsible bank, it is essential to “treat each worker in a simple, personal and fair way”.

“Balancing work and family life can be difficult, so we want to help our employees do so. This is how we demonstrate our commitment to supporting them and promoting diversity and equality. There is still much to do, but this is an important step in the right direction ”, he emphasizes.

Large fund managers have different views on where investment should be concentrated

The encouraging news about the vaccines and their upcoming distribution herald the end of the pandemic.

It is time, therefore, to reposition the portfolios in this new situation, but the great fund managers do not agree on how to do it.

Thus, in the first place, JP Morgan Asset Management does not focus so much on the region where the investor can position itself, but rather is in favor of buying shares in travel companies, airlines and hotels , precisely the sectors that suffered the most with the coronavirus, regardless of the country.

“Rotation in the equities sector could dominate investor discussion in the coming months,” says Tai Hui, Asia market strategist at JP Morgan.

“We believe that investors may seek to diversify their allocations to take advantage of potential good news about vaccine development,” he explains.

Three regions with great investment potential.For its part, Fidelity’s multi-asset team puts more focus on the region that may be a winner after Covid. He believes that now is the time to put on more weight in regions like Europe that are severely affected by the virus, betting that they will improve thanks to the vaccine.

For the manager, Europe would fall into that category because in the region the virus evolved with great violence. But with the news of the vaccine, European equities, on average, have risen more than 7% since November 9.

Instead, Franklin Templeton argues that it is still too early to move away from places like Asia that handled the crisis better.

Stephen Dover, Franklin Templeton’s chief equity officer, believes there are still months at least before any vaccine can be widely deployed, and that means Asian stocks are still the place to be.

The reason is that “Asia can benefit from being able to function fully economically while the West awaits full vaccines,” he says.

As for US equities, they hit new highs on Tuesday with the Dow Jones climbing above 30,000 points for the first time. Global stocks are poised to deliver the best November performance in their history, while Asian stocks are on track for the best gains since 2009 this month.

All in all, there is a general opinion that the markets are being very optimistic. “We think the markets are too optimistic about the speed of a global vaccine launch,” explains Ross Cameron of Northcape Capital in Tokyo.

“It will take a lot of time and money” to vaccinate the entire population, warns Cameron.