

Outerblue
Amundi
Welcome to Outerblue, a podcast channel to guide professional investors on their financial journey
Four series are available:
Outerblue Convictions: Our monthly market analysis and investment convictions
This series presents our latest analysis of the markets, asset allocation trends and our investment convictions.
Each month, listen to Monica Defend, Head of Amundi Institute, discuss Amundi’s views with Swaha Pattanaik, your host on this podcast.
Outerblue Conversations: Latest insights and discussion on a variety of investment topics
This series discusses topical developments in the world of investment. Listen to expert views on the economic and geopolitical landscape, discover the insights, implications, and analysis as well as market views and asset allocation recommendations.
Outerblue Responsible investment: Responsible investing themes shaping the investment landscape
This podcast explores and explains the latest responsible investment themes.
Listen to experts from Amundi’s responsible investment teams share their insights on the latest environmental trends investors should be watching
Outerblue Talks Research: knowledge sharing on financial research
This podcast takes a closer look at current financial research topics and themes.
Join Swaha Pattanaik, Head of publishing and digital strategy, to learn more about the latest research, the findings and implications from Amundi’s research experts.
Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.
Four series are available:
Outerblue Convictions: Our monthly market analysis and investment convictions
This series presents our latest analysis of the markets, asset allocation trends and our investment convictions.
Each month, listen to Monica Defend, Head of Amundi Institute, discuss Amundi’s views with Swaha Pattanaik, your host on this podcast.
Outerblue Conversations: Latest insights and discussion on a variety of investment topics
This series discusses topical developments in the world of investment. Listen to expert views on the economic and geopolitical landscape, discover the insights, implications, and analysis as well as market views and asset allocation recommendations.
Outerblue Responsible investment: Responsible investing themes shaping the investment landscape
This podcast explores and explains the latest responsible investment themes.
Listen to experts from Amundi’s responsible investment teams share their insights on the latest environmental trends investors should be watching
Outerblue Talks Research: knowledge sharing on financial research
This podcast takes a closer look at current financial research topics and themes.
Join Swaha Pattanaik, Head of publishing and digital strategy, to learn more about the latest research, the findings and implications from Amundi’s research experts.
Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Jun 10, 2025 • 13min
Tracking the U-turns amid rising yields - Global Investment Views by Outerblue Convictions
Join our host, Swaha Pattanaik, as she sits down for her regular catch-up with Monica Defend, Head of the Amundi Investment Institute, to give our perspective on the markets, analyse the trends and share our investment views for the weeks ahead. In this month's review, we discuss what's been driving the rise in yields on longer maturity US and Japanese bonds in recent weeks. Do we expect this trend to continue and what does this mean for fixed income markets more broadly? We also consider the outlook for inflation and monetary policy in the major economies around the globe, look more closely at the US market in particular, and examine how the uncertainty around tariffs has been impacting the equity markets. Finally, we drill down into the areas and asset classes that could be most appealing to investors, across developed and emerging markets.Topics covered: Investment views, investment convictions, financial markets, macroeconomics, monetary policy, fiscal policy, inflation, growth, interest rates, central banks, fixed income, yields, US, Japan, equities, bonds, emerging markets, tariffsHosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

May 19, 2025 • 14min
Trade wars continue to complicate policy decisions - Global Investment Views by Outerblue Convictions
The spring meetings in Washington are a useful platform to gauge opinion of policymakers, economists, bankers and investors from around the world. In this latest edition of our monthly investment views podcast, Monica Defend, Head of Amundi Investment Institute, catches up with Swaha Pattanaik on her return from the US to share Amundi’s latest investment views and talk about the mood in Washington, and what this might mean for the markets. They discuss the impacts of US tariffs and the retaliatory measures on the global economic outlook, looking particularly at the consequences for growth and inflation expectations. They also consider what’s next for central bank moves and Amundi's forecasts for interest rates. Finally, they wrap up with the main convictions for some of the major global currencies, as well as the equity markets and some of the big things to watch in emerging markets.Topics covered: Investment views, global outlook, growth, inflation, forecasts, economics, equities, tariffs, US, Europe, emerging markets, Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

May 9, 2025 • 21min
Capital Market Assumptions 2025 - Seeking potential in a pivoting world - Outerblue Talks Research
Against a backdrop of extraordinary global uncertainty, Amundi's 2025 capital market assumptions report explores the game changers that are shaping investment decisions and asset class return expectations. Join Giulio Lombardo as he speaks to Monica Defend, Head of the Amundi Investment Institute, and John O’Toole, Head of Multi-Asset Investment Solutions, to discover this year's main findings and what's changed since last year. Identifying three major themes for this year, Amundi's 2025 capital market assumptions takes a closer look at new socio-economic scenarios with their higher geopolitical fragmentation and tariffs, it explores the impact of a delayed transition to net zero, and assesses the impact of artificial intelligence at a regional level. We dig deeper into these big transformative trends, including the macroeconomic and technological shifts, more frequent extreme climate events, and a slow transition, and look at how they are impacting our expectations for long-term returns for different asset classes globally. We also analyse how they're affecting long-term projections for growth and inflation. Finally, we look at how these developments may drive investment opportunities, particularly in Europe, and how investors can adjust their strategic asset allocation to incorporate these return expectations in their portfolios. Topics covered: markets, investment, economic, finance, capital market assumptions, return expectations, forecasts, trade, inflation, growth, GDP, central banks, Europe, tariffs, portfolios, asset allocation, equities, fixed income, emerging markets, real assetsHosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

May 2, 2025 • 20min
Outerblue Responsible Investment - How do engagement and voting drive action on corporate sustainability?
In the fifth and last episode of our series on Shareholder Stewardship, Caroline Le Meaux, Global Head of ESG Research, Engagement, and Voting, and Edouard Dubois, Head of Proxy Voting, engage in a dynamic conversation on voting at annual general assemblies and how it is most effective when coupled with engagement with companies. Dialoguing with companies is very important in the voting activity: it can lead to improvements in companies strategies before or after the AGM has taken place. This episode will explore what proxy voting is, and why it is important in an overall stewardship strategy of an asset manager. Many themes will be touched upon, including board compensation, Say on Climate resolutions, and filing shareholder resolutions to accelerate improvements in the climate strategy.Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Apr 9, 2025 • 14min
Outerblue Talks Research - Seat belts fastened for the global economic rewire
The market roller coaster continues. After riding a wave of optimism in Europe in the wake of the German fiscal bazooka to increase defense spending, the confirmation of US tariffs sent markets suddenly plunging. What will be the economic impact of Trump’s approach to trade and tariffs? Swaha Pattanaik and Monica Defend, Head of the Amundi Investment Institute, sit down for a special edition of Outerblue Talks Research to discuss the latest market and economic developments and what these mean for investors. We untangle some of the consequences and probable reactions, in the short, medium, and longer term. What will be the impacts on supply chains? How will GDP growth and inflation be impacted? Will we see a recession in the US and what will be reactions from the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank? Finally, we detail some of our main calls for investors looking to increase portfolio resilience in this uncertain market environment.Topics covered: markets, investment, economic, finance, volatility, tariffs, trade, inflation, growth, GDP, central banks, US, Europe, Trump, portfoliosHosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Apr 7, 2025 • 32min
Outerblue Responsible Investment - Driving Action on Social Cohesion through Shareholder Engagement
In the fourth episode of our five-part series on Shareholder Stewardship, Esther Law, Senior Investment Manager, Emerging Markets Debt and Responsible Investing Lead, and Luda Svystunova, Head of Social Research, engage in a dynamic conversation on shareholder engagement on social cohesion - linking human capital and human rights engagements to responsible investors financial considerations, as well as client and societal responsibilities of issuers. The engagement agenda on social issues continues to expand as new challenges and opportunities for companies and investors emerge in response to societal, regulatory and technological shifts. In this episode, the discussion centers on Amundi’s stewardship on social issues, the materiality and interlinkages between human capital and human rights, as well as their relationship to climate. Additionally, it also focuses on the impact that technology, especially artificial intelligence, is having on the companies’ responsible conduct agenda and how this is factored into our engagement process. Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Apr 2, 2025 • 14min
Outerblue Convictions – Global Investment Views – Europe rallies behind historic German spending bill
In this month's review of the latest developments on the global economy and in financial markets, we focus on the seismic shifts that have been happening in Europe in the past few weeks, in particular, the historic spending package approved by the German parliament. Swaha Pattanaik and Monica Defend, Head of Amundi Investment Institute, catch-up to discuss the remarkable change in policy, and its implications for Germany and the wider Eurozone. Will the rally in European markets continue and what opportunities does this open up on the equity and fixed income markets? The episode continues by examining the monetary policy outlook in Europe and how this compares to the projections for US growth. Finally, we look at whether the Chinese stimulus package announcement has changed our view on the economic and market outlook for China. This month's topics: Germany, Europe, Defense spending, Markets, Growth, Inflation, Equity, Fixed income, US, China, Monetary policy, Interest rates Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Mar 11, 2025 • 30min
Outerblue Talks Research - US fixed income - Early pain, later gain?
Less than 2 months back in the White House, US president Donald Trump has packed in a great deal; Shifts in policy, tariffs, federal employment, not to mention a huge change in approach to foreign policy. This month, Swaha Pattanaik sits down with Jonathan Duensing, Head of Fixed Income at Amundi US, and Mahmood Pradhan, Head of Global Macro with the Amundi Investment Institute, to try to guide us through the present uncertainty in the markets. They examine how these different issues have been affecting the US economy as a whole, and fixed income markets in particular and explore where investors can find the best opportunities at the moment. How long will the current pain last, and when and where will the promised gains be realised? They discuss the extent to which the roadmap given during the election campaign has changed and how this is impacting market growth. Will Trump succeed in reducing government spending and what challenges will he face? They finish by drawing on their wealth of experience in previous crises to give their view on whether the current crisis is any differentand what it might mean for fixed income investors.Topics: Fixed income ▪ Markets ▪ Bonds ▪ Investment ▪ Finance ▪ Research ▪ US economy ▪ Tariffs ▪ Trade ▪ Analysis ▪ Growth Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Mar 6, 2025 • 30min
Outerblue Responsible Investment - Driving Action on Nature-Related Risks through Shareholder Engagement
In the third episode of our five-part series on Shareholder Stewardship, Molly Minton and Julien Foll, both Senior Analysts and Co-leads on Nature at Amundi, engage in a dynamic conversation on shareholder engagement on biodiversity - linking nature-related engagements to the financial considerations of responsible investment. More than half of the world’s GDP depends on natural resources and pressures on biodiversity and ecosystems present acute risks for investors and society at large. This episode will explore how Amundi uses the framework of the planetary boundaries as a tool to identify key engagement priorities around nature to encourage corporates to better address nature related impacts and risks within responsible investment while also capturing new business opportunities.Topics: Responsible investment ▪ ESG ▪ Stewardship ▪ Engagement ▪ Nature ▪ Biodiversity ▪ Natural Resources ▪ Research ▪ Investment insights ▪ Corporate responsibility Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Feb 27, 2025 • 12min
Outerblue Convictions – Global Investment Views – Narratives of love and fear
Our monthly podcast providing our latest investment views and market analysis. After an eventful month trying to keep up with the breaking news, not least the debut of new AI model Deepseek, concerns over Trump’s tariff proposals, and European security concerns, Swaha Pattanaik and Monica Defend, Head of Amundi Investment Institute, sit down to reflect on what all these events mean for the markets. Find out what is driving the equity and fixed income markets and whether we can expect the current gold rush to continue. What were the outcomes of the Munich Security Conference? Have tariffs impacted China’s growth prospects? Where is the US dollar likely to go next? This jam-packed episode takes a look at all the major market events of the month and how these impact our investment views.This month's topics: Investment views ▪ Market analysis ▪ Equity ▪ Fixed income ▪ emerging markets ▪ Trump ▪ Tariffs ▪ Gold ▪ China ▪ currency Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.


