Newsletter | February 2022

4 febrero 2022Noticias financieras,Newsletter

A HAWKISH FED SENDS GROWTH STOCKS TUMBLING

- 9% THE JANUARY DROP OF THE NASDAQ COMPOSITE INDEX

Investment perspective

Financial markets have got off to a very volatile start in 2022 largely due to the increasingly hawkish tone of the Federal Reserve, but also in view of a lack of visibility on several key issues. The US equity markets underperformed as growth stocks were badly hit by the prospect of rising interest rates. European and UK equities proved more resilient as they benefited from a rotation into value stocks, more highly represented in their indices. Significant rises of bond yields were also observed with short-term US ones the most impacted by the anticipation of a higher number of interest rate rate hikes; 2-year Treasury yields thus rose from 0.73% to 1.16%. Even if Eurozone yields also increased, the widening of the interest rate differential between Treasuries and Bunds underpinned the US dollar. Finally, the commodity complex appreciated strongly, with the biggest moves recorded by energy and industrial metals.

The most likely path of the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy has been reassessed continuously by investors since the beginning of the year. The hawkish pivot of the central bank in December moved to a new level, making markets very choppy on concerns that the Fed mighty tighten policy even more than expected. The mention in January of an upcomig reduction of the Fed’s balance sheet took investors by surprise, and a first rate hike in March now appears as a done deal. The following steps are less predictable even though markets are now pricing in five hikes in 2022 compared to three at the beginning of the year. Notwithstanding the prospect of higher interest rates, investors remain confused by the level of uncertainty that the central bank, and Powell in particular, is predicting. Added to the uncertainy over inflation, supply chains, the pandemic and the situation on the Ukrainian border, it is not surprising that markets were badly shaken during the past month.

Investment strategy

Following a solid end to 2021 for financial markets, January has provided a stark reminder of how quickly conditions can change. The speed at which the Federal Reserve is looking to normalize its monetary policy is destabilizing the markets and it will likely take some time for an equilibrium to be found. Our base case scenario still favours equities as being the main drivers of portfolio performance, and we are prepared to tolerate higher volatility in the near term in view of our longer-term outlook. Economic growth should remain above its long-term potential and corporate earnings are expected to grow further, even if at a slower pace. From a historical perspective, the beginning of a tightening cycle by the Fed has not prevented positive equity returns as long as the rise of rates is gradual, and a recession is not in sight.

Markets are likely to be much more challenged in the year ahead. Less supportive monetary policies, a decelerating trend of earnings growth, elevated economic and pandemic-related uncertainties are the main headwinds they will have to face. These factors largely explain why we anticipate more moderate portfolio returns in 2022.

MARKETS TO REMAIN VOLATILE AS ELEVATED UNCERTAINTY UNLIKELY TO DISSIPATE SOON

Portfolio Activity/ News

January was a disappointing month for the portfolios. With both bond and equity markets dropping simultaneously, the majority of funds detracted from the performance, as to be expected. US Small Caps, the Multi-thematic fund, European Small Caps, the global technology fund and one of the Japanese funds were the main detractors. On the positive side, some positive contributions were provided by the European Value fund, long/short equities and the UK Value fund. For non-USD denominated portfolios, the appreciation of the dollar was also a positive contributor. In the alternative space, the long/short credit funds and the Event-Driven strategy had limited drawdowns, whereas the CTA and Global Macro strategies fared less well. The selection of active managers is at the core of our invest-ment approach, with the objective of generating significant alpha relative to benchmarks over the long term. There will be periods when we must accept some underperformance relative to a more passive approach. We are currently going through such a period and will be looking for our active funds to catch up their gap and re-establish their long-lasting track-record.

Download the Newsletter

by Clara Barton

Newsletter | December 2021

6 diciembre 2021Noticias financieras,Newsletter

A NEW COVID VARIANT AND A MORE HAWKISH FED SPOOK THE MARKETS

- 20.8% A PLUNGE OF WTI OIL PRICES IN NOVEMBER

Investment perspective

Following a positive start to the month, global equities ended November on a very weak note as investors were spooked by the discovery of a new Covid variant, Omicron, in southern Africa. This late-month news was compounded by Jerome Powell’s more hawkish tone, indicating his willigness to speed up the Fed’s tapering. The MSCI World Index in local currencies fell by 1.6%, with European equities underperforming and US equities proving to be much more resilient. In a risk-off market environment towards the end of the month, government bond yields tumbled. 10-year Treasury yields declined from a month-high of 1.66% to 1.44% and 10-year Bunds ended the month 0.24% lower at - 0.35%. A most dramatic move of oil prices was also observed in November. Concerns over weaker demand due to lockdowns in Europe and the new Covid variant pushed the price of a barrel of WTI oil 21% lower.

At a time when markets were already under stress due to concerns about the effectiveness of vaccines to tackle the new Omicron strain, the Federal Reserve’s Chair, Jerome Powell, signalled his support for a faster withdrawal of the central bank’s asset purchase programme. During his first testimony to Congress following his nomination for a second term, Powell proved to be significantly more hawkish on inflation than previously. His comments led to a further drop of equity markets, especially as investors had wagered that the Federal Reserve would take a more patient approach to raising rates due to the emergence of the new Omicron variant. The shifts of expectations relative to rate hikes were reflected by the whipsaw of 2-year Treasury yields during the month. After initially declining from 0.49% to 0.4%, they then spiked up to 0.64% before ending November at 0.5%.

Investment strategy

In view of the high uncertainty surrounding the latest Covid variant, we have decided to stay the course and not take any rash decisions. Based on previous episodes when new Covid variants were discovered, market drawdowns proved to be limited and fleeting. We are unable to predict the effective-ness of the current vaccines against the Omicron strain, we thus prefer to focus on the underlying fundamentals at both a macro and corporate level and continue to invest for the longer term. We do, however, fully expect markets to remain more volatile than they have been throughout most of 2021. The portfolios are well diversified and not reliant on one par-ticular investment style, especially as significant market rotations are likely to remain a factor in the near term.

Volatility has remained high in the bond markets as investors try to take account of a more hawkish Federal Reserve at a time when Covid-related uncertainty has risen. Our base case scenario is still for yields to gradually increase in the months ahead and our overall duration risk is low. Our focus is on high-yield credit, senior secured loans, convertible bonds, as well as emerging market corporate debt.

MARKETS TO REMAIN CHOPPY AS UNCERTAINTY RISES AND FED TURNS MORE HAWKISH

Portfolio Activity/ News

After getting off to a strong start, November turned out to be a negative month for portfolios. US Small Caps, European Value, the CTA trend-following strategy, the Multi-thematic fund, EM growth and healthcare equities were the main detractors. On the positive side, the best contributions were provided by the global technology fund, US growth, metal mining equities, and the Japanese growth exposure. For non-USD denominated portfolios, the appreciation of the dollar was also a positive contributor. Most fixed-income positions ended the month with modest variations, except for the EM corporate debt fund which extended its decline observed since the end of August, in large part due the crisis in the Chinese real estate sector. The fund remains a top performer within its peer group over different periods, nevertheless, and the manager is confident of the opportunities ahead. We consider this position to be the one providing the most potential within the fixed-income asset class.

Apart from the CTA strategy, other hedge funds were stable and showed their usefulness within the portfolios. The poor performance of the trend-following strategy was the result of the sudden reversal of bond yields, weaker equities and a widening of credit spreads. This kind of return pattern is well understood and is to be fully expected when well-entrenched trends reverse brutally. Were these trends to invert more permanently, this systematic strategy would then adjust its exposures accordingly. End

Download the Newsletter

by Clara Barton