Macroeconomics

Like the end of a long evening of revelry, the decline in the fortunes of momentum growth and value companies leaves the Quality Growth investors, in our opinion – still standing. Companies with pricing power, low debt, and consistent earnings may be the slow but steady winners in the race to beat the market.

The broad-based sell-off that has faced investors since the start of this year has been all the more painful because of the breakdown in traditional correlations, which has put conventional hiding places out of reach.

With fears of recession growing, defensive assets like US Treasuries suddenly look to be back in fashion. How can investors prepare their portfolio for recession?

TwentyFour Partner and Portfolio Manager, Gordon Shannon, describes the developments of the short term bond strategy in Q1 2022.

TwentyFour Portfolio Manager, Elena Rinaldi, explains how European ABS markets behaved in Q1 2022 and provides her outlook for the year ahead.

TwentyFour Partner and Portfolio Manager, Eoin Walsh, discusses market conditions in Q1 2022 and provides his outlook for the year ahead.

With inflation running at 40-year highs in many parts of the world, it is easy to get carried away with making comparisons to the dark economic days of the early 1980s. 

Last week both the Fed and the BoE hiked rates by 0.25%, and judging by the Fed's dot plots and comments from the Bank of England (BoE), more hikes will likely follow in the coming months.

Officially the Fed pivoted from its ‘transitory’ inflation rhetoric in December last year.

The hawkishness of the Fed on Wednesday paved the way for the Bank of England (BoE) to follow suit.

Central banks must temper inflation at a time of geopolitical crisis, historically high valuations, slowing economic growth, declining equity markets, and a flattening yield curve – clearly not an environment for the faint of heart. Quality growth stocks, relative winners during times of persistent inflation, can be a portfolio stabilizer in challenging times.

Soaring inflation was already a dominant theme for markets coming into 2022. The sanctions imposed on Russia in response to its invasion of Ukraine have only exacerbated its expected rise, and pushed its expected peak further out.