Hello, May Market commentary, what happened in April? To put simply, calmer waters, but not plain sailing. April felt like a step down in intensity after March’s shock and escalation. Tensions in the Middle East eased somewhat following a temporary ceasefire framework involving the US, Israel and Iran, which reduced the immediate risk of disruption […]
Hello, As we move further into 2026, it is clear that markets continue to be shaped by global events. March was a challenging month for investors, with rising geopolitical tensions and higher energy prices causing increased market uncertainty. What drove markets in March? The main focus was on developments involving Iran and the wider Middle […]
Hello, For most of February, global financial markets were relatively positive. Share markets rose in many regions, supported by improving economic data, steady company earnings and a shift in investor preferences towards more attractively valued areas of the market. Japanese equities were a standout performer, with the Nikkei index rising strongly following a decisive election […]
Hello, It’s fair to say that January was eventful and if it is any guide to how the rest of 2026 goes, we can say it’s almost certainly not going to be boring! Political and geopolitical tensions were elevated almost from the off with the US action in Venezuela and civil unrest in Iran and […]
Firstly, I hope you had a wonderful Christmas break and managed to get some well-deserved rest after what was quite the year last year for markets. Speaking of Christmas, unfortunately there was no real Santa rally in December. But global equities did end the month modestly higher in dollar terms, closing the year on a […]
After seven months of positive global equity, November proved to be a much more nuanced month for global markets, with equities essentially treading water to end the month flat, but with winners and losers beneath the surface. So, looking globally: Value (stocks that are trading at a price below their ‘real’ value) outperformed growth (stocks […]
Traditionally a quieter month for markets, August was actually a positive one for most major asset classes. Generally speaking, riskier assets outperformed more defensive assets, with global equities up around 2.5% in local currency terms and global bonds, when hedged back to sterling, up around 0.5%. Currency had a meaningful impact on global equities, which […]
Well, equity markets around the world performed well again in July, continuing the strength we’ve seen in the last couple of months. There were record highs experienced in several of the major markets, and the backdrop was one of fairly robust corporate earnings, so corporate profitability, and the continuation of easing trade tensions. A key […]
May was a much better month for markets. After a rocky start to the year, confidence among consumers improved and global trade tensions, especially between the US and the EU, started to ease. Investors took this as good news and share prices around the world went up. Even the unpredictable back-and-forth on trade policy from […]
Given the choice, I’d have liked this letter to be written amid a more stable market backdrop, but of course markets are very hard to predict and impossible to control! So, what is going on in markets? What is going on right now is arguably a continuation of a much less predictable market backdrop that […]