The industry buzzword for 2015 will be...
So, what will the industry buzzword (or phrase) on everyone’s lips be in Year of the Goat?
Well, one thing seems clear: it won't be Year of the Goat. The eighth symbol in the Chinese zodiac received a paltry 2% of the vote when we asked AsianInvestor readers what the hot phrase of the year would be in a recent market survey.
Mind you, the Chinese New Year outshone Variable Interest Entities (VIEs), which gleaned zero votes, despite the corporate structure having recently been legalised in China.
In fact, rather depressingly, the clear winner with 11.5% was: deflation. With the oil price having sunk and Europe careering towards a messy Grexit as the left-wing Syriza party edges Greece towards the eurozone trap door, AsianInvestor readers may have hit the economic nail on the head.
Renminbi internationalisation predictably scored well, proving we still have some optimistic readers, with 8.8%. The spread of offshore renminbi centres around the world and the popularity of QFII and RQFII schemes have boosted the currency’s international chances. While full liberalisation is still way off, great strides are forecast this year.
Swinging back towards the negative and third with 7.1% was: currency war. There's no sign of the yen above all slowing down its race to the bottom, with retaliation inevitable. On a distinctly related note and in fourth spot with 5.9% was: Abenomics. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s quantitative easing drive has succeeded in pushing down the yen over the past two years, giving a boost to exports.
But as the Goat approaches, surprises could also lie in store. In February 2007, amid a booming global economy, a US subprime mortgage crisis in August leading to a global credit crunch seemed a distant prospect? In February 2008, even though markets panicked, did many people really foresee that a major investment bank would go bust, threatening the international financial system?
So we'll have to wait and see. But here is your verdict on our buzzword suggestions for 2015.
| Which buzzword or phrase will be used the most in 2015? | ||
|---|---|---|
| Number of votes | Percentage of votes | |
| Deflation | 47 | 11.5% |
| Internationalisation of the renminbi | 36 | 8.8% |
| Currency war | 29 | 7.1% |
| Abenomics | 24 | 5.9% |
| Contagion | 23 | 5.7% |
| New normal | 19 | 4.7% |
| Inflation | 18 | 4.4% |
| Smart beta | 18 | 4.4% |
| Divergence | 17 | 4.2% |
| Shadow banking | 15 | 3.7% |
| Multi-asset | 14 | 3.4% |
| Credit crisis | 12 | 2.9% |
| Modinomics | 12 | 2.9% |
| Reform agenda | 11 | 2.7% |
| Ecommerce | 10 | 2.5% |
| Asean Economic Community | 9 | 2.2% |
| KYC | 9 | 2.2% |
| Mobile banking | 9 | 2.2% |
| Connectivity | 8 | 2.0% |
| Year of the goat | 8 | 2.0% |
| Flash crash | 7 | 1.7% |
| Hard landing | 7 | 1.7% |
| Duration | 6 | 1.5% |
| Peer-to-peer lending | 6 | 1.5% |
| Soft landing | 6 | 1.5% |
| Value investing | 6 | 1.5% |
| Alpha | 5 | 1.2% |
| Great rotation | 3 | 0.7% |
| Macro-prudential tools | 3 | 0.7% |
| Wealth management | 3 | 0.7% |
| Credit boom | 2 | 0.5% |
| Deregulation | 2 | 0.5% |
| Dual class share structures | 2 | 0.5% |
| Womenomics | 1 | 0.2% |
| VIE structures | 0 | 0.0% |
| Total | 407 | 100.0% |
AsianInvestor surveyed its broad reader base, which includes asset owners, asset managers and service providers from across Asia Pacific. In all, 173 regional respondents took part.