Recent Market Movements and Investment Portfolio Strategy Markets have been quite volatile since the end of May with significant weakness across all major asset classes. Unusually, there has been a high level of correlation across asset classes with bonds, equities, commodities and real estate assets all falling. There appears to have been three main factors driving the deterioration in investor …
Investment Markets in March 2013
Equity markets shrugged off concerns following the inconclusive Italian elections in late February and gained strongly to their close on March 14th. However, the bundled bail out of Cyprus was the catalyst for significant weakness in European markets to month end led by peripheral markets and the banking sector. Elsewhere equity markets continued to gain on the back of firmer …
Investment Markets in January 2013
Investment markets started the year on a positive footing with most stock markets recording gains; however, sharp falls in Sterling, Yen and the US Dollar against the Euro offset underlying investment gains for Euro based investors. Bonds were weaker in January as a combination of currency movements and shifting investor sentiment towards higher return assets saw a selling of both Government and …
Investment Markets in December 2012
December saw equities continue to make gains as analysts began to look through the US budget negotiations believing agreement was likely at the last minute, so offering some US fiscal policy certainty for 2013 and avoiding the so called “fiscal cliff” of an immediate budget balancing spending cuts and tax increases. Further support for risk assets was provided by signs …