Citywire Monaco Forum 2026

Economic cycles significantly influence equity market performance, shaping which investment factors, themes and strategies perform best at different stages of the cycle. In this session, Jeff Morrison will share his perspective on the current economic environment and explore how changing market conditions affect both quantitative and fundamental investing approaches. The session will also highlight the strengths and limitations of quantitative analysis and fundamental research across varying market conditions.

Workshop Objective:
    Identify the current phase of the economic cycle and the implications of market transitions
    Understand how different stages of the business cycle influence factor, theme and investment strategy performance
    Learn how quantitative analysis with fundamental research can strengthen investment outcomes

Company Profile: In 1924, MFS launched the first US open-end mutual fund, opening the door to the markets for millions of everyday investors. Today, as a full-service global investment manager serving financial advisors, intermediaries and institutional clients, MFS still serves a single purpose: to create long-term value for clients by allocating capital responsibly. That takes our powerful investment approach combining collective expertise, thoughtful risk management and long-term discipline. Supported by our culture of shared values and collaboration, our teams of diverse thinkers actively debate ideas and assess material risks to uncover what we believe are the best investment opportunities in the market.  As of December 31, 2025, MFS managed 651billion € in assets.

Historically, we have seen most investors allocating to EMD via benchmarked solutions – either through single sub-asset class exposure or through a multi-asset,  well-diversified approach. While there is merit in each of these solutions during certain parts of the economic cycle, a benchmark agnostic – aka ‘unconstrained’ – strategy can open up a portfolio to a wider opportunity set, offering a potentially value-additive approach. The BlueBay Emerging Market Unconstrained Debt Strategy is a total return fund that  dynamically manages EM exposures through the market cycle. The strategy is actively managed as a portfolio of high conviction positions with flexibility on interest-rate, currency and credit exposures. The strategy is designed to provide upside capture of EM asset class returns and strong downside protection.  

Workshop Objective: Brent David will present the ‘best ideas’ approach to EM debt investing, without the constraints of a benchmark. The discussion will be on a dynamic management of investment themes across EM interest rates, currencies and credit.

The growing dominance of US mega-caps has made large-cap indices heavily exposed to a few stocks and sectors. Small-caps, by contrast, are less concentrated and thus offer significantly enhanced investment diversification.

Remarkably so, mega-cap growth has quietly redefined what “small-cap” means. Today, the largest stock in the MSCI World Small-Cap Index has a market cap of almost US$30 billion, versus around US$3 billion twenty years ago. Hence, small-caps now represent a far more meaningful part of the real economy.

By investing in small-caps, investors tap into a broader, richer opportunity set - from AI infrastructure winners to industrial and consumer champions - each with its own business cycle and dynamics.

Curious how to capture this opportunity? Join our small-caps workshop.

Workshop Objective: Equip participants with practical insights into today’s small-caps landscape and show how our “quality at an attractive price” approach uncovers compelling, diversified investment opportunities beyond mainstream.

Company Profile: Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management NV is part of the Van Lanschot Kempen group, a listed company on Euronext AMX, with roots dating back to 1737.

We are active managers who bring free thinking, resolve and originality to investment decisions. This helps us to reach hard-to-access asset classes that are often missed by competitors. Placing considerable focus on active engagement we aim to unlock value in a sustainable way, guiding investors through the transition to a sustainable economy.

Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management NV is licensed to manage UCITS and AIFs and is authorised to provide investment services under the supervision by the Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets. As of 30/12/2025, Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management had a total of €128 billion in client assets.