In a world where unprecedented events seem to be happening with regular occurrence, it is more important than ever to find stewards of capital with the talent, temperament and expertise to navigate through such uncertain times. This is no easy
Global Matters Weekly “Year 1862: amid the chaos of the American Civil War, the three gunslingers Blondie, Angel Eyes and Tuco (a.k.a. the Good, the Bad and the Ugly1 ) are competing to put their hands on a buried cache
After a bumper few months for equity markets, a recent report1 from Calastone, the global funds network, showed June was one of the worst months on record for outflows from UK equity funds. That follows positive UK market performance for
How to sum up 2020 so far? A rollercoaster is probably the best way to describe it; both from an emotional perspective but also in terms of what the markets have been up to. Over the first quarter, market participants
Global Matters Weekly You tend not to hear too much from the city of Leicester here in the UK but it has played host to a number of historical events over the years and I’m proud to say I lived
Global Matters Weekly The summer solstice, or ‘longest day of the year’, took place in the northern hemisphere just over two weeks ago, putting those of us that live here on a path of gradually shortening …
There are few certainties in markets and economies and with most countries globally facing what could be the worst economic collapse in the post-war era, it is surprising to see markets and most risk assets continue their remarkable rebound. The
For those of you that don’t know, this Friday is the midpoint of summer and as I have a Swedish partner this means there will be a celebration. Midsummer, or Midsommar in Swedish, is an annual celebration in Sweden which
Against a rapidly changing investment landscape, and with bond yields at ever lower levels, it would be unwise to rely solely on observed historical data to inform expectations about future cross asset class returns. We believe that robust scenario testing
Global Matters Weekly Financial losses come in many shapes and forms and investors rightly spend a considerable amount of time worrying about them but managing loss aversion poorly can make the longterm outcome even worse. It is important to pick
Global Matters Weekly There’s no two ways about it: size matters. We live in a society that admires big – The Angel of the North, the Great Wall – yet we also revere the precision of small – the microprocessor,
Global Matters Weekly Bonds, issued by both governments and corporates, will always have a significant role to play in multi-asset portfolios due to their inherent stability and reliable cash flows, which provide much needed balance for other riskier positions. However,
As a landlord and investor in real estate, I am closely watching how the world adapts to the global lock down. In our case at Momentum Global Investment Management, the transition from office to homebound working has been seamless. I
A lot has changed and at the same time many aspects of our lives and work go on much as before. We met last week for our regular round of asset allocation meetings just like we always do, only this
In many ways, life has changed so much in recent weeks. Our usual routines suddenly seem distant memories. In other ways though, some practices haven’t changed at all. The ongoing management of our portfolios and two key components which underpin
Global Matters Weekly 30 March 2020 We are living in unprecedented times, with much of the world under lockdown due to COVID-19. There are a multitude of potential outcomes resulting from the increasingly extreme global measures being taken to prevent
I had planned to write about dark pools and their potential benefits for active managers in this week’s blog but some things require urgent comment and the inversion of the ‘2s10s’ point of the US yield curve is one of
Weekly Digest Risk is part of everyday life. It exists in various forms and as a result we are constantly making decisions by assessing the risks involved. We effectively act as our own risk manager whether we realise it or
Weekly Digest Value investing has taken a back seat in recent times, particularly in the US where the divergence in performance between low and high growth stocks has been significant. After a decade of mediocre performance, investors are increasingly losing
Weekly Digest Hiring managers looking to bring someone into their business or team would naturally include an interview stage for promising candidates, which may consist of several rounds of face to face questioning and assessment. Why should the process of
Weekly digest There an is old proverb that ‘one swallow does not make a summer’, so what should one read into the dole of doves that flew over Washington last week? Without wanting to lean too heavily towards the US
The Federal Reserve inspired recovery in equity markets following the Q4 2018 sell-off, continued through February, albeit on a more mixed and less dramatic basis than January. European equities led the way with a return of 4.1% in euro terms,
Weekly Digest Last week I listened to a prominent psychologist talk about how people perform everyday tasks. Contrary to popular belief, there are very few things people can do automatically without devoting some thought to them; try reading a book
Weekly Digest Whenever you do any kind of planning, there are some decisions that are more important than others. Planning for holidays, for example; selecting the destination and the time of travel might be the key drivers that will determine
Weekly Digest Amidst the recent political and market uncertainty it is all too easy to lose sight of the importance of investing for your long term financial wellness. Sophisticated investors are well versed with the “time in the market not
Weekly Digest Amidst the recent political and market uncertainty it is all too easy to lose sight of the importance of investing for your long term financial wellness. Sophisticated investors are well versed with the “time in the market not
Weekly Digest Amidst the recent political and market uncertainty it is all too easy to lose sight of the importance of investing for your long term financial wellness. Sophisticated investors are well versed with the “time in the market not
Viewpoint What a difference a month makes. Following the despair of December, markets made one of their best ever starts to a new year, with virtually all asset classes and markets rising, some very sharply. Many equity markets managed to
Weekly Digest Ljubljana, Slovenia had the dubious honour of being the destination for a weekend ski trip for me and a handful of Momentum colleagues. It had been 10 years since I last skied and as I stood at the
Weekly Digest Last month we launched a new multi-asset income sub-fund within the Momentum Harmony Portfolios, our Luxembourg UCITS fund range. We’ve seen strong demand for this strategy which reflects the low interest rate environment but also a general lack
The fourth quarter of 2018 proved a torrid time for global markets. Softening data and earnings guidance suggested a global slowdown. Combined with tightening global monetary conditions, US-China trade tensions and European political uncertainty, a backdrop emerged that weighed negatively
Weekly Digest Warren Buffett described Jack Bogle, the founder of Vanguard who died last week, as the man who had the largest impact on investors’ wealth yet charged nothing for it. Bogle’s vision was simple: by definition, the average active
Weekly Digest 14 January 2019 CFA Countries are falling out of love with each other just as Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham did before writing the track from which this week’s blog takes its title. President Trump’s wall at the
With broadening evidence of a global slowdown and both the Federal Reserve and European Central Bank continuing to tighten policy, investors took fright in December, resulting in steep falls across nearly all equity markets and a rush into safe haven
With broadening evidence of a global slowdown and both the Federal Reserve and European Central Bank continuing to tighten policy, investors took fright in December, resulting in steep falls across nearly all equity markets and a rush into safe haven
At the start of the year, I wrote the blog “Goldilocks! What’s next?” reflecting on a great 2017 period in markets, described by many as ‘The Goldilocks’; not too hot and not too cold. All major economies were growing at
Weekly Digest It is common belief that bigger is better, but at Momentum we do not always endorse that. One of our functions is to choose which managers to trust our clients’ capital with: manager selection is not a scientific
Weekly Digest It goes without saying that we make investments for the sole benefit of our clients, but what if our investing activities can make a wider positive impact too? I was in Ghana two weeks ago for the official
Weekly digest Amidst all the Brexit-related headlines and discussions of trade wars, a steep decline in the oil price has gone by relatively unnoticed. Brent crude, the international benchmark, peaked at 86 dollars a barrel in October and since then
Weekly Digest Uber, the popular US ride-hailing company, is best known for its cheap, reliable and fast service, and not for the leveraged balance sheet it has built up over its lifetime. Uber’s earnings remain in negative territory and it
Viewpoint After the sharp falls in emerging market currencies and markets in the previous month, a degree of stability returned in September. With the US equity market up 0.5% and indexes reaching new all-time highs, investors might be forgiven for
Viewpoint After the sharp falls in emerging market currencies and markets in the previous month, a degree of stability returned in September. With the US equity market up 0.5% and indexes reaching new all-time highs, investors might be forgiven for
Weekly Digest Just over a week ago the curtain came down on our seventeenth Think Tank event in London. We were delighted to be joined by a hundred or so delegates, speakers and colleagues representing six of the world’s seven
Weekly Digest The poor performance of Emerging Markets has featured prominently in the press in recent months, but our experience in the real economies of some Emerging Markets is somewhat different. Within our African real estate team, we invest and
Viewpoint Perhaps August will go down as the month when the vulnerabilities to a US monetary tightening cycle and trade wars became abundantly clear. Although emerging markets have been under pressure since the peak in late January there was a
Viewpoint Perhaps August will go down as the month when the vulnerabilities to a US monetary tightening cycle and trade wars became abundantly clear. Although emerging markets have been under pressure since the peak in late January there was a
Weekly Digest 10 September 2018 Twenty years ago almost to the day I stepped into JP Morgan’s St James’s office to start the job that spawned my investment career. In a poetic turn September 1998 also happens to be the
Weekly Digest Factor investing has gained a lot of prominence in recent years and product providers have been quick to capitalise on this new area of growth, launching a huge number of new funds and strategies. We don’t spend time
Weekly Digest Currently the difference between two and ten-year US Treasury bond yields is at its lowest level since 2007, raising fears of an imminent recession. Our base case scenario remains one in which we continue to see a slow,
Weekly Digest When I meet our investors and potential investors I often make the point that one of the facets of our approach that I am most proud of is our track record of keeping investors out of mischief. There
