Finance

The Russian market is assimilating key green financial instruments: bonds, corporate lending, and mortgages. However, there are other forms of sustainable finance that could also potentially take root in the market.

Russian companies became more generous with their dividends. Corporate reports for 2005–2023 show that major corporations provide the largest payments, while third-tier issuers pay dividends most frequently. However, a focus on dividends does not guarantee a return on investment.

AI has become a tool of creative destruction. Companies that incorporate it into their business models will set the tone for the development of their sectors in the coming years. Perhaps AI will also cause a realignment in the trade and economic alliances of countries.

Global lenders are focused on financing development projects in good times. In times of crisis, they switch to stabilisation loans and become ‘firefighters’. This is the role being increasingly played by development banks, data from 11 countries of the Eurasian region show.

Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are gradually supplanting all other types of funds in the financial market. Their rampant growth makes it simpler for millions of investors to enter markets. However, their expected dominance might have effects that are yet to be explored.

From 2022 on, Russian retail investors will be allowed to buy foreign exchange-traded funds (ETFs). This regulatory decision tackles several objectives, from making investments more balanced to encouraging competition among asset management companies.

Experiments show that cats, monkeys, and deer can often ‘compose’ more profitable investment portfolios than those of professional investors. However, one should not rely on luck when investing.

Digitalisation is changing the payment market and consumer behaviour in many countries. This raises the question of whether it would be expedient to introduce an additional form of money that would meet the requirements of the digital age: a central bank digital currency.