Our Views on the Markets and the Economy
Articles, investment updates and economic analysis
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Rarely do events in financial markets lead the main evening news. This highlights the magnitude of UK bond market volatility and sterling’s fall in the past few days, and underscores how important it is for investors to be aware of the consequences and to be prepared.
The inclination to be more responsible is changing how many consumers are choosing to live their lives, and also how they invest. People want more of a say in how our society is shaped and where their money is directed as they prepare for their future. We now offer investors more choices to help them decide what works best for them.
How much longer should investors be misguided by advocates of the active fund management industry? Yet again, the latest research reveals that active fund managers are not justifying their high costs. For most investors, the numbers just don’t add up.
It has been a very difficult first half of the year for most investment markets (some worse than others), with the US S&P 500 Index down 17% and the tech heavy Nasdaq Index down more than 25% in US dollar terms. Stocks in Europe have also fallen sharply, and to a lesser extent, in Asia. Only the energy and resources-laden FTSE 100 has offered resistance, with returns close to 0%, albeit in sterling terms.
There has been much commentary recently about falling bond prices, especially around coverage of US Treasury bonds. But what does this mean for investors who hold bonds and even for those who are not invested in this asset class?
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine overshadowed all other issues during the quarter. Indicators of market volatility, which were already elevated, snapped higher as investors assessed the tragic humanitarian consequences as well as the wider economic implications for the European and global political order.
The conflict in Ukraine, global inflation and the attempts to control it are primary causes of worry now. But it’s unusual to have a period when there are no concerns whatsoever, so investors should plan for multiple scenarios and try to prepare portfolios which are resilient.
Despite the ongoing uncertainty around health and policy in 2021, the year represented a good one for equity investors. The UK equity market continued its rebound from the volatility of 2020, while the US maintained its dominance over all other markets, delivering its 12th year of positive returns in the 13 years since the Global Financial Crisis of 2008, when measured in sterling terms.
Our Chief Economic Strategist, Gerard Lyons, and our Head of Portfolio Management, Iain Barnes, look at the events that are impacting the global economy and financial markets, and what this means for your investments.
We don’t need a crystal ball to tell us that the future is inscrutable. Whether we are talking about economic or market crises, social upheavals or so-called black-swan events, commentators seem to utter the words “We didn’t see that coming” with remarkable regularity. But if the future is so unknowable, should we embrace caution and not invest at all?
Team Contributors
Gerard Lyons
Charlotte Ransom
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Why transparent investing – and transparent advice – matters
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Why shouldn’t Investors Expect Greater Transparency, Better Consumer Education, plus Simple Advice?
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Missed Opportunity: How Investors Counted the Cost of being Overcautious in 2019
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How a Network gives Families Investment Control and a More Efficient Way to Invest
Matt Conradi
Thomas Salter
Iain Barnes
Simon McConnell
In The Press
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Read what the press have to say about Netwealth
