Industry Voice: After the Great Lockdown

clock • 1 min read

From a local public health challenge in a single city, COVID-19 has spiraled into a worldwide pandemic - unleashing a cascading series of humanitarian, societal, business and economic crises.

Given the extent of upheaval and uncertainty, it is difficult to predict precisely how the world will be different after the myriad effects of this pandemic have passed. This is exactly the challenge for institutional investors. Now, more than ever, they need to focus not only on the ongoing disruptions but also on how this episode will structurally alter the behavior of companies, consumers and governments well after the Great Lockdown is over.

Our focus in this report is on the long-term structural impact of the coronavirus crisis on companies around the world: How will firms respond to newly discovered operational risks and business vulnerabilities; to potentially permanent shifts in consumer behavior and preferences; and to incremental government regulations and interventions? These questions are critically important for investors as over 50% of a typical institutional portfolio is comprised of corporate debt and equity, both public and private.1

To explore these questions, we draw on the insights of over a dozen PGIM investment professionals across our managers. We believe long-term investors who anticipate the enduring transformations catalyzed by this crisis will be best positioned to navigate the investment opportunities and risks after the Great Lockdown.

 

Read the paper

 

1Based on the portfolio allocation of a large, US pension fund. Values were derived from the market value of the assets, as of June 30, 2018.

 

More on Investment

Biodiversity: How to drive financial returns alongside real-world impact

Biodiversity: How to drive financial returns alongside real-world impact

Anna Väänänen and Jonathan Dean say investors can achieve positive biodiversity impact and strong financial returns

Anna Väänänen and Jonathan Dean
clock 03 July 2025 • 5 min read
LTAFs set for fourfold growth with majority of investment firms now considering one, WTW finds

LTAFs set for fourfold growth with majority of investment firms now considering one, WTW finds

WTW finds most investment firms are looking to set up or are developing an LTAF

Jasmine Urquhart
clock 01 July 2025 • 1 min read
Partner Insight: Where is the value in sterling credit?

Partner Insight: Where is the value in sterling credit?

Increased geopolitical tensions and heightened macroeconomic uncertainty will always lead to reassessed investment assumptions and market volatility.

Paola Binns, Head of Credit @ Royal London Asset Management
clock 30 June 2025 • 2 min read
Trustpilot