Portfolio of Barry Gill

An introduction from Barry Gill,
Head of Investments

Never waste a good crisis

Henry Kissinger famously asked,

Who do I call if I want to speak to Europe?

While Europe has clearly made strides since Kissinger’s provocative jibe, many of the underlying challenges remain. One currency, but 27 underlying markets across a whole swathe of industries and sectors – with fragmented infrastructure, regulation and legal structures.

Of all the great minds and analysts who have grappled with Europe’s future over the years, the recent reports by two intellectual giants stand out for their insight, influence and completeness. One is former European Central Bank President Mario Draghi’s The Future of European Competitiveness, compiled for the European Commission in September 2024. The other is former Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta’s Much More Than a Market.

I was therefore honored recently to sit down with Professor Letta in Milan. Highlights of that conversation are presented here as an exclusive interview split it into two parts for ease of consumption. We cover everything from Brexit, his desire for a unified dialing code, and much more. His overriding message is for practical and pragmatic simplification behind any unification agenda.

The investment implications of such existential policy dilemmas cannot be ignored. Our macro experts Evan Brown, Nicole Goldberger and Marco Bischoff consider whether recent asset allocation increases to Europe should be considered as tactical or structural shifts. They also argue allocations should be considered in light of the recent correlation breakdown between US and European equities.

±õ²ÔÌýWalls of worry, Jonathan Gregory looks at the likelihood of any debt mutualization and the implications for government bond yields. Shifting to corporate credit, Zachary Swabe and Jakob Von Kalckreuth assess the current opportunities and risks, and how any Letta-style changes might impact the credit ecosystem. ±õ²ÔÌýFinding Europe’s elusive alpha, Steve Magill, our Co-Head of Global Equity, reflects on the recent rotation into Europe and looks at where the value lies in various sectors.

Finally, Massimiliano Castelli and Lucy Thomas argue that deregulation is not a panacea as many in the US believe. They believe smarter, more effective guardrails are required if Europe is to find the right balance of rules and incentives when achieving competitiveness on the global stage.

As always, I hope you enjoy reading this edition and that it triggers some new insights or ways of thinking about current markets.

Barry Gill, Head of Investments, ÃÛ¶¹ÊÓÆµ Asset Management

The Red Thread: Europe Edition

The Red Thread Video

What’s next for Europe?

This short video looks at the key trends and challenges facing Europe. It weaves a thread and invites you to delve deeper into our Red Thread Europe Edition.

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