Wednesday webinar at one The limits of diversification Cross-asset correlations and portfolio risk in H1 2026

Wednesday 15 July 2026 | 13:00 - 14:00 | Webinar

The first half of 2026 highlighted the limits of diversification in multi‑asset portfolios. As inflation pressures resurfaced and monetary policy expectations tightened, correlations across asset classes intensified, reducing the effectiveness of traditional diversification when it was needed most. In this environment, assets that typically provide downside protection failed to offset losses elsewhere, while others unexpectedly provided some diversification benefits. 

In this webinar Christoph Schon, CFA examines how macro and geopolitical shocks propagated across markets, how cross‑asset correlations evolved, and what this meant for overall portfolio risk. It highlights key risk drivers and diversification effects and compares realised outcomes with what stress scenarios predicted based on historical correlation structures. 

Learning outcomes: 

• Understand how macro shocks propagated across asset classes 
• Analyse the breakdown in correlations and its impact on diversification 
• Evaluate how well stress tests based on historical correlations explain recent outcomes 
  
  

Speaker 

Christoph Schon, CFA, CIPM, Investment Decision Research at SimCorp 

Christoph Schon, CFA, CIPM, leads SimCorp’s Investment Decision Research in EMEA, generating insights into recent risk trends with a particular focus on fixed income and multi-asset class analysis. He produces regular special reports and blog posts and holds periodic webinars. He is also a frequent speaker at industry events. 

Christoph has 25 years of experience in the financial industry, having previously worked for Dresdner Bank, Lehman Brothers, Barclays Capital, and UBS, where he held various roles as sell-side research analyst, head of client services, and client-facing quant. 

Christoph has been a CFA Charterholder since November 2007 and earned the CIPM designation in 2015.