Obliging people’s vanity is a good investment strategy argues multi-asset assistant fund manager Will McIntosh-Whyte. But beware of fickle fashion.

Could a rejuvenated commonwealth be the basis for a wider post-Brexit trading bloc? It would need strong, far-sighted leaders to bring it about, argues head of multi-asset investments David Coombs.

The threat of higher inflation and rising interest rates spooked global stock markets in February and pushed up government bond yields. We expect the trend of rising yields to persist and be a dominant investment theme over the coming year, with implications for equities. 

After a rocky start markets have since settled, but possibly not for long. Our chief investment officer, Julian Chillingworth, looks ahead.

This has been one of the most begrudged share market rallies in modern times. Our chief investment officer, Julian Chillingworth, explains why political deadlock may help it continue. 

Political uncertainty has dominated global events over the past couple of years. Surprise voting patterns have delivered Brexit and President Trump followed by an indecisive UK general election result. A minority government is now negotiating the terms of the divorce from the European Union (EU).

Investors today are paying a relatively high price for domestically focused UK companies compared with their multinational peers, which seems counter-intuitive given Brexit uncertainty. For investors, this divergence is creating both opportunities and challenges, which are the focus of our lead article “Digging below the surface of UK indices".

The power of increments: small changes over a long time.

Europe has long been seen as the unloved problem child of the developed markets, beset with fiscal problems, threatened with disintegration and unable to escape from chronic underperformance. Now it is the new favourite. But can Europe justify its new-found popularity and higher valuations?

With all the major regions of the global economy growing in synch, investors are shrugging off political uncertainty. Equities have been buoyant, particularly in the US technology sector, where rising valuations are the focus of our lead article “Great tech-spectations”.

Indicators point to a peak in the pace of global expansion, but we still prefer equities to bonds.