Fidelity Answers: The Investment Podcast

How do you measure biodiversity? From the forests of Borneo, with the help of a pioneering team of scientists, Fidelity have followed a project to explore if sound recordings - layered with artificial intelligence - could help to solve biodiversity's data issue. Analyst Minlin Lee travelled to Indonesia to see, and hear, the data gathering in action, while Charlotte Apps followed the analysis in the south of France. Back in the studio, Richard Edgar is joined by Fidelity International's Global Head of Stewardship and Sustainable Investing, Jenn-Hui Tan, to discuss why investors should be aware of nature loss.  With additional contributions from Portfolio Manager Velislava Dimitrova and Director of the Natural History Museum in London, Dr Doug Gurr.  You can hear Dr Gurr's conversation with Richard in full here. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

2021 was a big year for the global fight against climate change. China's president, Xi Jinping, again pledged that China would hit peak emissions by 2030 and be net zero by 2060. Then at COP26 in Glasgow, over 100 countries pledged to cut greenhouse gas emissions and eliminate deforestation. But that appeared to come to a screeching halt when the world was hit by the triple blow of Omicron spreading globally, the war in Ukraine breaking out, and the Fed starting to hike interest rates. For some people, it looked like fighting climate change took a back seat as priorities shifted towards energy security and economic stability. Coming back to 2023: China is still the biggest greenhouse gas emitter. But has the country slipped on its path to decarbonisation? Or is progress indeed moving ahead? In this episode, Catherine Yeung, Investment Director, and Marty Dropkin, Head of Equities, Asia Pacific, are joined by Flora Wang, Portfolio Manager & Head of Stewardship, Asia, and Dhananjay Phadnis, Portfolio Manager. With additional contributions from Senan Yuen, Head of Investments, China, Bunny Huang, Investment Analyst, and James Richards, Senior Industry Analyst. Read more at fidelityinternational.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What impact will climate change have on portfolios? Should investors ready themselves for a disorderly transition to net zero? And what if it all gets sorted out - what are the investment implications for a greener, decarbonised future? Richard Edgar is joined by Global Macro Economist Anna Stupnytska and Portfolio Managers Kris Atkinson and Caroline Shaw to discuss how investors can rise to the challenge. With additional contributions from Fidelity's Global Head of Investment Research Ned Salter. Listen to more from Ned's Trade Offs series here.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Chip shortages at the start of the Covid pandemic threw semiconductors into the limelight. More recently, chips have been the focus of trade tensions between China and the US. Now, as China reopens and supply chains adjust, how will the ‘Chip War’ affect the future of the global tech hardware industry, and ultimately the prices of thousands of types of consumer goods?  In this episode, Catherine Yeung, Investment Director, and Marty Dropkin, Head of Equities, Asia Pacific, are joined by Terence Tsai, Analyst and Portfolio Manager, and Tina Tian, Portfolio Manager, as they discuss China's evolving role in the global tech hardware supply chain, the effects of the ‘Chip War’ with US, and what it all means for the economy and investors. With additional contributions from Miya Huang, Innovation Intelligence Lead in Dalian; Zaf Tiu, Research Associate in Singapore; Chandrasekhar Sridhar, Analyst & NDA in Mumbai; Vivian Pai, Fund Manager, Taipei; Jonathan Tseng, Equity Research Analyst, London; and Vivian Wang, Investment Analyst in Hong Kong.   Read more at fidelityinternational.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, Richard Edgar is joined by Steve Ellis, Global CIO for Fixed Income, Anna Stupnytska, Global Macro Economist, and Gita Bal, Global Head of Fixed Income Research, to discuss the fallout and whether it could be enough to force a rethink at the Federal Reserve.  Asia Economist Peiqian Liu also joins Richard to discuss what China's recovery looks like on the ground. You can read more analysis on SVB and the fallout on your local Fidelity website or here. Opening clip: US President Joe Biden, March 13th, Sky NewsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bunge is one of the world's biggest agriculture commodity businesses. Linking farmers with customers is a complex job. But doing it sustainably? Bunge's CEO Greg Heckman explains how he's approaching that challenge, and the the choices he's faced as chief executive, in his interview with Ned Salter, Global Head of Investment Research. Hear about the investment implications of that interview in this episode, recorded in November 2022, where Ned is joined by Senior Industry Analyst James Richards and Global Head of Fixed Income Research Gita Bal. Listen to the full interview here. Read and watch more on this interview here.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From farmers to customers, agriculture commodities powerhouse Bunge works with thousands of stakeholders along vast value chains. Its scale means influence - so how is it responding to calls for greater sustainability in the crops it distributes? How is it managing the cost of increased ESG oversight? In this final episode of the series, recorded in October 2022, Ned Salter, Global Head of Investment Research, talks to Bunge Chief Executive Greg Heckman about the choices and trade offs he's been making since taking the helm in 2019. Listen to the Trade Offs Analysis for the investment implications of this interview with Fidelity's experts. Read and watch more on this interview here.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Keeping profits, social responsibility, and public relations on an even keel is no mean feat when you're a government contractor. UK services company Serco employs tens of thousands across the world in areas as diverse as defence, justice, and healthcare.  Rupert Soames joined Serco as chief executive in 2014 and completed his tenure at the end of 2022. In this straight-talking interview, Fidelity International's Global Head of Investment Research Ned Salter hears about his ESG lessons and in particular the social component: could Serco pay their staff more? Yes, but they'd lose business. Should they carry out controversial government policy? Yes, if it's the mandate of a democratically elected government. Is ESG investing a good thing? Not in its more zealous forms, no. Hear him explain these answers in this episode, and why he sees public scrutiny as an essential part of the job, and then listen to Fidelity's investment team explain the significance of what's been said here. This interview was recorded in July 2022. Watch video clips and read bonus material from the interview here.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Managing and looking after people is core to a government services company like Serco. And the risk management that goes with such work demands a very different approach. In this episode of Trade Offs Fidelity's investment team use highlights from the interview with Serco's former Chief Executive Rupert Soames to illustrate how investors should be considering the 'S' of ESG and why its importance is only set to rise.  Ned Salter, Global Head of Investment Research, is joined by Equity Research Analyst Dominic Hayes and Head of Strategic Initiatives for Global Investment Research Fiona O'Neill. Listen to the full interview with Rupert Soames here. Watch video clips and read bonus material from the interview here.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Just how confident do CEOs feel about the year ahead? Do they really expect earnings to grow? Is reaching net zero still a priority? For answers to these questions (and many more), we’ve asked 152 of Fidelity International’s investment analysts for their views – and brought it all together into the annual Analyst Survey. Fiona O'Neill, Head of Strategic Initiatives for Global Investment Research, and Gita Bal, Global Head of Fixed Income Research, join Richard Edgar to dig through the results.  With additional contributions from Fidelity International's Chief Executive Anne Richards, Global Equities Portfolio Manager Ashish Kochar and analysts Serhat Birbilen, Michael Gaynor and Vivian Wang.  You can read the Analyst Survey in full here, or at your local Fidelity website. Follow this link to Trade Offs, our new podcast where we interview CEOs about the tough choices they're making when it comes to ESG.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.