Newsletter | June 2023

THE US DOLLAR RECOVERED ALL OF ITS YTD LOSSES AGAINST THE EURO IN MAY

+ 36.3% THE PERFORMANCE OF NVIDIA IN MAY

Investment perspective

In May most equity markets were rangebound as investors’ attention was gripped by the debt ceiling talks in Washington to avoid a default by the US government. Japanese equities continued to perform well, however, as did US growth stocks, in particular those of companies heavily involved in Artificial Intelligence. European and emerging market equities struggled and ended the month with small losses. While European bond yields were mostly stable, the Treasury yield curve shifted much higher as investors reduced some of their exposure to US debt in view of the risk of a first-ever US default; 2-year and 10-year Treasury yields rose by 40bps and 22bps, from 4.01% and 3.43% to 4.41% and 3.65% respectively. In this context, the US dollar performed well as it recouped its year-to-date losses against the euro, with a 3% return in May. Weakness was observed in commodity prices on concerns over softer global demand; the prices of industrial metals, such as copper and iron ore, fared poorly, as did oil prices, with a barrel of WTI oil dropping by more than 11%.

Market expectations relative to the path of the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy have shifted quite significantly during the last weeks. While there is a broad consensus that the prospect of further interest rate hikes appears to be very limited from now on, markets repriced their expectations in May for the end-2023 level of Fed funds. From a point where three rate cuts by the end of the year were anticipated, markets are now pricing in one rate cut only. This is more closely aligned with the Federal Reserve’s outlook as it has consistently pushed back against the idea of rate cuts this year already.

As often observed in the past, Democrats and Republicans finally reached an eleventh hour deal to avert the first-ever default on US government debt. The legislation that suspends the $31.4 trillion debt ceiling will remain in effect until 2025, when one is likely to face a similar situation once again.

Investment strategy

At the onset of summer, we are sticking to our defensive portfolio asset allocation. We remain cautious in view of a slowdown of economic activity, higher for longer interest rates, tighter bank lending standards, and the risk of rising bond yields. Following the US debt ceiling deal, a deluge of Treasury bill issuance is coming; this could drain liquidity from the markets and push bond yields higher which could in turn also impact stock prices negatively. The narrow rally of the US stock markets is also of concern based on past obser-vations. That is why we are also maintaining our diversified allocation. We are seeing some early signs that a rotation might be taking place in the markets. Strategies which have underperformed up to now appear to finally be attracting some attention from investors. It is too early to tell whether these are sustainable trends, but we see good fundamental reasons to remain invested in this way.

YIELD CURVES COULD BE UNDER PRESSURE AS US DEBT ISSUANCE MIGHT DRAIN MARKET LIQUIDITY

Portfolio Activity/ News

May was another flattish month for the portfolios as positive and negative monthly returns for the various underlying positions cancelled each other out. The best contributions were provided by the global technology fund, the multi-thematic fund, global convertible bonds, the systematic global macro strategy, and by frontier markets’ equities. For non-USD denominated portfolios, the strong appreciation of the dollar also contributed to the performance. Alternative strategies overall also added to the performance of the portfolios The main detractors over the past month were European value and Chinese equities, emerging market corporate debt as well as the specialty metals fund. As often highlighted, the performances of some indices this year are quite deceiving as they have been driven by a small number of stocks and sectors. The dispersion of performance between the value and growth styles, between small and large caps, between the different sectors, as well as between different regions is striking. As an illustration the spread of performances between our best and worst performing equity funds was over 40% as at the end of May!

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by Clara Barton

Newsletter | May 2023

APRIL WAS A MUCH LESS VOLATILE MONTH FOR CAPITAL MARKETS

- 5.9% THE GAP AT THE END OF APRIL OF A US LARGE CAP EQUAL-WEIGHTED INDEX TO A MARKET CAP ONE

Investment perspective

The month of April proved to be much less volatile than the previous one. The major equity indices of developed markets recorded limited gains, whereas emerging market equities ended with small losses. Despite the prospect of additional rate hikes, persistent inflation and signs of slowing economic growth, equities proved to be quite resilient. This was due in large part to acceptable corporate earnings which beat expectations that had been consistently lowered by analysts over the past months. Bond markets also ended with modest changes even if volatility remained well above-average, in contrast to the fast declining volatility observed in equity markets. The yields of 2-year and 10-year Treasuries edged lower by 2bps and 5bps, respectively, to end-April levels of 4.01% and 3.42%, with Bunds behaving in a very similar manner. With markets still anticipating a number of rate cuts by the Federal Reserve in the second half of 2023, following a final 25bps hike in May, the US dollar continued to depreciate against other major currencies; the EUR/USD parity appreciated by 1.7% to end the month at 1.102.

With more than 85% of the S&P 500’s market cap having reported, earnings have beaten estimates by 6.6%, with 77% of companies topping projections. Earnings per share growth is on pace for - 1.3%, assuming the current beat rate for the rest of the season. Sales have beaten estimates by 2.8%, with 67% of companies doing better than expected. In Europe, the earnings season is somewhat less advanced but, out of the companies having already reported their results for the first quarter, 64% have beaten earnings’ estimates and 65% sales’ expectations. Overall, these results have been supportive for equity markets, especially as most of the US mega-caps beat expectations. The results of companies such as Microsoft, Apple, Alphabet, Meta Platforms, Exxon Mobil and JPMorgan Chase were cheered by markets and contributed to the outperformance of their stock prices in April.

Investment strategy

We maintained our defensive portfolio asset allocation in April. We remain sceptical about the potential for much higher equity markets in the near term, due to an expected slowdown of the economy, tighter bank lending standards, and markets’ overoptimistic anticipation for Fed rate cuts in 2023. We continue to observe sticky inflation data and the main central banks will not want to take the risk of making a policy mistake by cutting interest rates too early. If they were to cut rates, in contrast to their current outlooks, it would be because of pronounced weakness of the economy which is not being discounted by equity markets at present. We also believe that long-term bond yields could increase from the current levels. In that case, it would allow us to increase our fixed income allocation as well as the portfolios’ duration. 

THE MARKETS’ EXPECTATIONS FOR 2ND HALF RATE CUTS DO NOT MATCH THE FED’S POLICY PATH OUTLOOK

Portfolio Activity/ News

April was a flattish month for the portfolios as monthly changes for the different positions tended to be limited and ended up by neutralising one another overall. The medtech and services fund provided the best contribution, with European value equities, the real assets fund, defensive equities, and the trend-following CTA strategy also producing some positive contributions. The main monthly detractors were the global technology fund, global convertible bonds, Chinese equities, the multi-thematic fund, as well as the emerging market corporate debt fund. With the exception of global convertible bonds, all the other fixed income positions generated small positive contributions. Alternative strategies also added to the performance of the portfolios even if gains were modest. For non-USD denominated portfolios, the depreciation of the dollar meant that it was a detractor.

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by Clara Barton

Newsletter | April 2023

STRESS IN THE BANKING SECTOR PUSHED YIELD CURVES MUCH LOWER

4.35% THE EXPECTED END-YEAR LEVEL OF THE FED FUND RATE

Investment perspective

The month of March was most eventful for capital markets. Three US banks collapsed following a run on their deposits and the Swiss government forced through the takeover of the 167 year-old bank, Crédit Suisse, by its rival UBS. This banking turmoil triggered a fall of equity markets and a plunge of bond yields. Markets also quickly repriced their expectations relative to the Federal Reserve’s hiking cycle, with rate cuts being anticipated for the second-half of 2023, once again. US federal authorities intervened quickly to protect both insured and uninsured deposits at Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank to restore calm in the markets. The merger of CS and UBS also contributed to remove some market stress even if Deutsche Bank found itself under heavy selling pressure for a brief period. The second half of March saw global equity markets rebound strongly and end the month with modest positive returns. The best performing asset in March was gold which benefited significantly from lower real bond yields and a weaker US dollar to appreciate by 7.8%.

A high level of volatility has been observed in bond markets for some time now, as a result of the fast pace of monetary tightening since early 2022. The moves that took place in March, however, proved to be even more extreme. The yields of 2-year and 10-year Treasuries collapsed from early-March levels of 5.06% and 4.08% to closing lows of 3.77% and 3.38%, respectively, a most significant shift of the US yield curve. By the end of March, expectations for the end-year level of the Fed’s fund rate had also dived to 4.35%, compared to an early-March level of 5.55%. In the Eurozone bond markets, comparable trends as in the US were observed, even if to a lesser degree; markets are now pricing in a end-year ECB policy rate of 3.4%, in contrast to 4% at the beginning of March.

Investment strategy

Our defensive portfolio asset allocation was maintained through March. We were close to being able to increase our fixed income allocation as bond yields kept on rising, but their sudden drop has prevented us from making this move so far. We had also got very near to our first target on the EUR/USD parity, with the objective of decreasing our dollar exposure. Then again, the unexpected banking turmoil trig-gered a reversal of the prevailing trend, taking away the opportunity to sell the US currency. We admit being some-what puzzled by the ongoing confidence of equity markets in view of the signals sent out by the bond markets. Were the Fed to cut rates this year, as currently priced in by markets, it would be due to a deeper slowdown of the economy, not the best framework for equities. That is one of the reasons why we have kept our underweight allocation towards equities.

The past month was a mixed bag for alternative strategies, but we continue to view them as an integral part of the port-folios. This is also the case for gold which has continued to provide real diversification and to behave more like a long duration asset, bringing defensive qualities to portfolios.

THE OPTIMISM OF EQUITY MARKETS IS IN STARK CONTRAST TO WHAT IS EXPRESSED BY BOND MARKETS

Portfolio Activity/ News

March was a modestly negative month for the portfolios as equity, fixed income and alternative asset classes all posted negative returns. US and European value funds were the largest detractors in the equity allocation, whereas the global technology fund produced a strong contribution as growth stocks outperformed. Our underweight duration exposure and our preference for credit strategies meant that most bond funds ended with limited monthly changes, except for the emerging market corporate debt fund which experienced a larger drawdown. The brutal reversal of bond markets also proved costly for trend-following strategies, in reason of their very short positioning on rates. In contrast, the discretionary global macro strategy performed very well. For non-USD denominated portfolios, the depreciation of the dollar also translated into a negative contribution for the portfolios.

In March two new funds were added to the model portfolios. The first one is a US value fund which replaced our previous US value one. The reasons for this change were an under-whelming performance of the prior fund recently, as well as an overweight exposure to the energy sector within the new fund. We also trimmed our discretionary Global Macro and trend-following CTA strategies to make room for a systematic Global Macro strategy based on fundamental and price-based indicators. The fund combines carry, fundamental, trend-following and value/reversion strategies, and displays a remarkable track-record over an extended number of years.

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by Clara Barton

Newsletter | March 2023

MARKETS WERE IMPACTED BY A REPRICING OF POLICY RATES IN FEBRUARY

4% THE EXPECTED PEAK LEVEL OF THE ECB’S KEY RATE

Investment perspective

The early-year optimism in financial markets gave way to renewed concerns over inflation and even tighter monetary policies, triggering a significant drop of bond markets. As often observed in 2022, the volatility in bond markets rose noticeably and impacted the momentum of other asset classes. The yields of 10-year Treasuries ended the month 41bps higher at 3.92% with those of Bunds with a similar maturity climbing by 37bps to 2.65%. While European equity markets proved to be resilient, as the Euro Stoxx 50 Index edged 1.8% higher, emerging market and US ones gave back a large portion of their January gains; the MSCI EM Index fell by 6.5% and the S&P 500 Index lost 2.6%. In this context, the US dollar benefited from the widening of the interest rate differential between Treasuries and Bunds, and from its safe haven status, to record a solid performance against other major currencies. A strong dollar and higher real interest rates meant that gold saw its early-year gains being erased, while other commodity prices also dropped.

Early-year market confidence over the decline of inflation appears to have been replaced by concerns that it will be more sticky and remain higher for longer than previously anticipated. This change of outlook was triggered by the publication of inflation data which was above forecasts, on both sides of the Atlantic, and was reflected by the steep rise of inflation expectations. The correction of bond markets in February means that they are more closely aligned now with the outlooks of the Federal Reserve and the ECB, with an implicit admission that policy rates will end up at much higher peak levels than previously expected. Markets are now pricing in peak policy rates of 5.5% in the US and 4% in the Eurozone, compared to January 2023 lows for peak rates of 4.7% and 3.05% respectively.

Investment strategy

We maintained our defensive asset allocation in February. Thanks to an underweight allocation towards equities and a low duration of the fixed income exposure, the drawdown of portfolios was not too deep. In last month’s newsletter, we had reiterated our scepticism about the markets’ optimistic outlook over a pivot by the Fed in the second half of 2023 and were therefore not surprised by the retreat of equity markets in view of rising bond yields. We believe that equity risk premiums are not attractive at this stage, leading us to remain cautious, especially in view of concerns over profit margins and the path of earnings.

We are closely observing the level of European bond yields as we are approaching a point where we would likely increase the duration of the portfolios. The latest developments in bond markets also mean that the recent appreciation of the US dollar has stalled. As we did not reach our first target on the EUR/USD parity, we have not yet reduced our dollar exposure for non-USD denominated portfolios.

INVESTORS HAVE BACKTRACKED FROM THEIR OPTIMISTIC STANCE OVER TERMINAL RATES

Portfolio Activity/ News

February was a negative month for the portfolios as both the equity and fixed income asset classes were detractors, while hedge funds produced only a marginal positive contribution. For non-USD denominated portfolios, the appreciation of the dollar provided a welcome positive contribution. Some of January’s best performing funds fared the worst during the month under review; the metal mining fund and Chinese equities were the largest equity detractors, whereas emerging market corporate bonds and the long duration investment-grade fund were the biggest fixed income ones. European Value and cyclical equities provided the best contributions within the equity asset class and the short duration European high yield fund generated the only positive fixed income contribution.

In February two new funds were approved by our investment committee. The first one runs a systematic Global Macro strategy based on fundamental and price-based indicators. The fund combines carry, fundamental, trend-following and value/reversion strategies, and displays a remarkable track-record over an extended number of years. The second fund is a concentrated US Value fund, which seeks to invest into great businesses trading at a “bargain”. Since its inception in 2008, the strategy has outperformed both its Value bench-mark and the broader S&P 500 Index.

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by Clara Barton

Newsletter | January 2023

MARKETS MAKE A STRONG START TO THE NEW YEAR

+ 10.7% THE JANUARY RISE OF THE NASDAQ COMPOSITE INDEX

Investment perspective

 Financial markets got off to a very positive start in 2023 as investors took the view that the likelihood of a soft landing was rising despite the hawkish tone from the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank. In this risk-on environment, the vast majority of equity markets posted above-average monthly gains, long-term bond yields decreased, credit spreads tightened, and the US dollar continued to depreciate. The MSCI World index in local currencies climbed by 6.4%, with the Euro Stoxx 50 index rising by 9.7% and the Hang Seng index by 10.4%. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note dropped by 36bps to 3.51%, with US and European high yield credit spreads contracting by 49bps and 68bps respectively. Other strong gains were also observed on industrial metals, as a result of the anticipation of renewed demand from China, and on the price of gold. Maybe a little surprisingly, oil prices ended the month lower, despite the boost from the reopening of China, while gas prices continued to slide at a fast pace. 

At the time of writing, the Federal Reserve has just hiked its Fed fund rate by 0.25%, as fully anticipated. The more relevant outcome of the FOMC meeting were the comments by the Fed’s chair, Jerome Powell, on the future path of the Fed’s policy. Powell repeated that more rate increases were needed and that rate cuts in the second half of the year were unlikely. This goes against markets’ expectations for two rate cuts by the end of 2023. What was more surprising was that Powell did not push back more against the recent easing of financial conditions, leading markets to extend their early-year rally, with equities ending the trading session higher and bond yields declining. The ECB and the Bank of England also matched market expectations by hiking interest rates by 0.5%. The ECB signaled its intention to raise interest rates by another 0.5% in March and will then evaluate its policy depending on data. As was the case after the Fed’s decision, markets are continuing to rally, with bond yields dropping quite noticeably. 

Investment strategy

At the onset of 2023, our asset allocation is composed of an underweight equity exposure, an allocation to fixed income which is close to neutral and an overweight exposure to hedge funds. Taking account of the strong performance of equities in January, we are sticking to this asset mix for the time being. We fear that markets could be overconfident in their dovish outlook relative to monetary policies and to the path of earnings. With bonds offering positive yields once again, we believe that it makes sense to hold more balanced portfolios and no longer to rely just on the equity asset class to generate portfolio performance. It is also reassuring that the current valuations of some of the traditional assets offer a better starting point for future portfolio returns than a year ago, when only a few of them could be considered cheap. Global value stocks, emerging and European equities, as well as investment grade credit are some of the assets that offer attractive valuations.

For non-USD denominated portfolios, our allocation to the US dollar remains underweight but we prefer to wait before reducing it further. From a medium to long-term perspective we would expect the dollar to depreciate but it continues to offer defensive qualities were markets to turn.

MARKETS INCREASINGLY POSITIONING FOR A SOFT LANDING SCENARIO

Portfolio Activity/ News

January was a strong month for the portfolios. With both bond and equity markets rising simultaneously, the majority of funds contributed to the performance, as to be expected. European Value equities, the metal mining fund, the global technology fund, Chinese equities, and the US Value fund provided the best contributions within the equity asset class. The only equity detractor was the healthcare fund, as the more defensive sectors such as healthcare, consumer staples and utilities ended the month lower. The best performers in the fixed income asset class were emerging market corporate bonds and the long duration investment-grade fund. In the alternative space, the Global Macro fund provided the best contribution, whereas one of the long/short equity funds, with a barely positive net exposure currently, ended the month with a small loss. The other hedge funds provided only marginal contributions.

Following a tough year for many strategies, we are confident that active managers will be able to generate more alpha in 2023. We would expect market dispersion to be high and to represent a favourable environment for good stock pickers. This extensive dispersion should also be helpful for hedge fund managers, and we are comfortable with our overweight exposure to these alternative strategies.

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by Clara Barton

Newsletter | December 2022

THE DOLLAR INDEX HAD ITS WORST MONTH SINCE 2010

+ 26.6% THE REBOUND OF THE HANG SENG INDEX IN NOVEMBER

Investment perspective

November was a strong month for capital markets, as both equities and bonds performed well. For once, emerging markets’ equities outperformed those of developed ones; Chinese equities rallied massively due to a dramatic shift of investor sentiment in the wake of the end of October selloff. The MSCI EM index climbed by 14.6%, compared to a 5.5% gain for the MSCI World index in local currencies, whereas the Euro Stoxx 50 index gained 9.6%. These equity gains were accompanied by another negative month for the US dollar; the 5% monthly drop of the dollar index was effectively its worst since September 2010, and this move contributed significantly to the overall improved market sentiment. The decline of long-term bond yields was another supporting factor for risk assets; the yields of 10-year Treasuries and Bunds declined by 44bps and 21bps to 3.61% and 1.93%, respectively, resulting in increasingly inverted yield curves. Credit and emerging market debt spreads continued to contract at a fast pace. Significant moves were observed in the commodity space also, with the price of gold rising strongly whereas oil prices dropped by more than 6% on concerns about weaker demand.

As in October, one of the drivers for the stronger markets was the narrative that the Federal Reserve was likely to slow the pace of its interest rate hikes. The US central bank is widely expected to rise rates by 50bps at its December meeting following a string of 75bps increases. The fact that the latest inflation data in the US have been below expectations has contributed to the market’s optimism relative to the path of the Fed’s policy. The market could, however, be at risk of underestimating the terminal Fed fund rate in view of the very resilient job markets, and the fact that the Fed will want to avoid making a mistake by ending its hiking cycle prematurely.

Investment strategy

The recent rebound of equity markets has obviously been most welcome for the portfolios, but we are reluctant to add to our current equity allocation and we maintain our modest underweight positioning. In our opinion, markets could be overconfident that central banks will soon be ending their hiking cycle. The upcoming economic slowdown could also be accompanied by a declining growth of earnings, as margins contract from record highs, hence our caution.

On the other hand, we think that bond markets offer a more attractive risk/reward at present, and we will be increasing some of our exposures. Investment-grade credit, and funds having the flexibility to manage both duration and credit quality are our current top picks. These funds can allocate to some of the more attractive segments of the bond markets, in areas such as subordinated bonds of investment-grade companies, corporate credit and financials, and corporate hybrids.

MARKETS ARE AT RISK OF UNDERESTIMATING THE TERMINAL FED FUND RATE

Portfolio Activity/ News

November was a positive month for the portfolios thanks to the strong returns of equities and also of bond markets. The best contributions were provided by Chinese and emerging equities, metal mining companies, the European value fund, emerging market corporate bonds, the technology fund and long duration investment-grade bonds. For portfolios with an exposure into gold, it proved to be a rewarding month as the precious metal climbed by 8.3%, as it benefited from lower real bond yields and the weaker dollar. The number of detractors was low. The depreciation of the dollar hurt portfolios not denominated in USD, as did the drop of the trend following CTA strategy, US small caps and the multi-thematic fund.

We were pleased to observe the massive rebound of our Chinese equity fund in November. In last month’s newsletter, we had highlighted why we believed it still made sense to be exposed to Chinese equities, and the recent upside move just shows how difficult it can be to predict trends. It also shows how sentiment is continuing to drive the markets, with the shift in China’s Covid stance towards a loosening of some restrictions contributing to boost market sentiment.

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by Clara Barton

Newsletter | November 2022

DEVELOPED MARKETS’ EQUITIES REBOUND BUT INVESTORS DUMP CHINESE EQUITIES

+ 7.1% THE PERFORMANCE OF THE MSCI WORLD IN OCTOBER

Investment perspective

Following a dreadful September, the month of October provided much welcome relief for investors thanks to a rebound of developed markets’ equities. One of the main drivers for this rally was the perception that key central banks might be getting closer to slowing the pace of their rate hikes following the decisions by the Bank of Canada and the Reserve Bank of Australia to raise interest rates by less than expected. The rise of equities was accompanied by a pause of the US dollar rally, tighter credit spreads, and an upwards move of the US yield curve. A significant underperformance of emerging market equities was also observed, as they recorded a monthly drop, largely as a result of Chinese equities plunging further from already depressed levels. In terms of investment style, Value outperformed Growth, and energy was the best performing sector, supported by rising oil prices. October also provided a much needed return to calm for UK assets after the replacement of Liz Truss, who became the shortest serving UK prime minister, by the former chancellor Rishi Sunak. The UK yield curve shifted down materially, with 2-year and 10-year Gilt yields dropping by 95bps and 58bps, respectively, whereas the pound recovered some of its recent losses. 

With more than 80% of the S&P 500’s market cap having reported, earnings have beaten estimates by 3.6%, with 66% of companies topping projections. Earnings per share growth is on pace for 5.9%, assuming the current beat rate for the rest of the season. Even if the beat rate was inferior to those of the previous quarters, amid lowered earnings’ expectations, companies’ results proved to be supportive for equity markets overall. What was quite striking was that equity markets continued to rise even if the share prices of some of the US mega-caps, including Amazon, Alphabet, Microsoft and Meta, were badly hit by a set of disappointing reportings. 

Investment strategy

At the time of writing this newsletter, the Federal Reserve has just announced another 75bps rate hike, as expected by the markets. What was less anticipated was the tone of Jay Powell’s press conference; equity markets had been rallying on the assumption that the Fed could be approaching the end of its hiking cycle and could even cut rates next year. Fed chair Powell made it clear that the US central bank still had work to do, and that real interest rates had to turn positive, implying that markets’ expectations were too optimistic in relation to future Fed fund rates. We were not in the camp expecting the Fed to turn more dovish, and this explains why we had not increased our equity exposure. In reason of the deterioration of the global economy, restrictive monetary policies, and a risk of further earnings’ downgrades, we have maintained our equity underweight.

It has been a disappointing month for Chinese equities, but we continue to believe that an exposure to the country still makes sense despite the ongoing headwinds. Overly cheap valuations, a significantly underweight positioning by foreign investors, and the prospect of some policy support are just some of the main reasons why we remain invested.

MARKETS HAD PINNED THEIR HOPES ON MORE DOVISH CENTRAL BANKS ONCE AGAIN

Portfolio Activity/ News

October was a positive month for the portfolios thanks to the rebound of developed markets’ equities. US and European Value funds, metal mining equities, the Healthcare fund, and US small caps provided the best contributions. The positive return of portfolios was, however, dented severely by the exposure to Chinese equities, and to those of emerging and frontier markets. The overall contribution of fixed-income was negative due to the declines of emerging market debt and the long duration investment-grade fund, even if convertible bonds did provide some positive returns. The overall contribution of the alternative exposure was neutral, with the recently added L/S US small cap fund continuing to perform well. For portfolios not denominated in USD, the depreciation of the US dollar was a detractor.

In October, we added a high yield bond fund to our list of approved funds. The particularity of this fund is that it is managed based on a fixed maturity approach, with the fund ending at the end of 2026. This means that all the underlying bonds will have maturities with a maximum of six months longer than the end of 2026.This approach is more defensive than a traditional bond fund, as risk factors such as credit risk, duration and volatility, decrease over time. We believe that the next months could provide a good entry point for the strategy, if credit spreads were to widen more.

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by Clara Barton

Newsletter | October 2022

MARKETS BATTERED BY INFLATION AND HAWKISH CENTRAL BANKS

1.033 THE BRITISH POUND PLUNGES TO A RECORD LOW AGAINST THE DOLLAR

Investment perspective

The early-month optimism of investors in September quickly gave way to severe market angst due to higher-than-expected inflation data and hawkish central banks. In a scenario often observed this year, yield curves moved up materially and equity markets tanked. The Local Currency MSCI World Index plunged by 8.5%, with US and EM equities underperforming and European ones faring somewhat better. The rise of bond yields was steep, and key bond indices dropped between 3% and 5%; 2-year Treasury yields climbed by 76bps to end September at 4.2%, with 10-year ones rising by 64bps to 3.8% after briefly breaching 4%. The moves on UK sovereign debt proved to be even more dramatic; 2-year and 10-year Gilt yields jumped by 122bps and 129bps, respectively, as markets reacted poorly to new UK government tax policies. The appreciation of the US dollar accelerated during the month, with the Japanese yen and the British pound finding themselves under particularly acute selling pressure; for the first time since 1998, Japan intervened in the currency market to support its currency, and it took an emergency statement by the Bank of England to help the pound to recover some of its losses.

As expected, the Federal Reserve hiked interest rates by 75bps in September to a 3%-3.25% range. The bank’s Chair Jerome Powell also delivered a more hawkish message, leaving little doubt that more outsized hikes would be announced at the upcoming meetings, leading to an end-2022 rate of 4.5%. The ECB also increased rates by 75bps last month, at the high end of market forecasts. The ECB is currently widely expected to rise rates by another 1.25% by the end of the year to a level of 2%. Markets are now anticipating the ECB’s policy rate to be increased to around 3% in 2023, a significant ramp up of expectations compared to only a few weeks ago.

Investment strategy

Following the reduction of our equity positioning last month, we did not change our asset allocation in September, with both equity and fixed-income asset classes remaining under-weight. In contrast, the exposure to alternative strategies is overweight and has contributed to limit some of the market volatility, and to preserve capital in these challenging market conditions. Our assessment is that markets are still struggling to correctly price in the path of monetary tightening, and the instability of bond markets continues to negatively impact all the other asset classes. The ongoing strength of the US dollar is another factor which is preventing any significant rebound of equity markets. In view of the extreme level of uncertainty on key issues, including geopolitical risks, rising interest rates, inflation, currencies and Chinese economic growth, visibility is extremely low, and forecasts are of little help.

In this environment, we try to filter out the short-term noise and prefer to invest over the long term, and not attempt to time the market. We continue to believe that well-diversified portfolios are the best way to navigate in the current market environment.

MARKET VOLATILITY IS LIKELY TO REMAIN HIGH IN THE NEAR TERM

Portfolio Activity/ News

September was a brutal month for portfolios as both bonds and equities recorded steep losses. Alternative strategies outperformed long-only exposures significantly and, for portfolios not denominated in USD, the US dollar exposure was a positive contributor. The trend-following CTA strategy provided the unique positive contribution while other hedge funds were either flat or only marginally negative. The main detractors were the real assets fund, badly hurt by higher bond yields, Chinese and EM equities, the global technology fund, as well as various Value funds. In the fixed-income space, investment grade sovereign debt funds with a longer duration and EM bonds fared the worst, whereas credit funds with some flexibility managed to outperform their reference benchmarks strongly and to limit the impact of pronounced market drawdowns.

In September, we cut one of our Japanese exposures due to a risk management measure in view of the fund’s declining assets. For some portfolios, we replaced this position by a newly-approved long/short fund focused on US small and mid caps. This fund has a very limited net long exposure and has low levels of beta and correlation with the market. At a time when equity markets are very volatile, and dispersion is wide, this kind of strategy offers a differentiated source of performance and diversification within the portfolios.

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by Clara Barton