30 September 2024

Policymakers chase the clouds away

Market updates
Last week, China unveiled a surprise package of stimulus measures to boost its economy and stock market. The People’s Bank of China (PBoC) cut interest rates, lowered banks’ reserve requirement ratios and relaxed mortgage policies.
23 September 2024

Markets welcome the Fed’s jumbo interest rate cut

Market updates
Last week, the US Federal Reserve (Fed) decided to cut interest rates by half a percentage point, or 50 basis points (bps), bringing the Fed funds rate in the 4.75-5.00% range. Typically, central banks tend to move in increment of 25 bps.
Quintet sets its sights on Finland
19 September 2024

Quintet sets its sights on Finland

Luxembourg-headquartered private bank recruits team of five experienced Finnish wealth management professionals and launches Finnish Desk
16 September 2024

The time has come (to cut US rates)

Market updates
The weekend saw another attempted shooting of Donald Trump. While any market implication remains unclear at the time of writing, along with whether and to what extent this might shift voter intentions, this could put the US election on 5 November on investors’ radars even more.
Navigating market volatility
09 September 2024

Navigating market volatility

Market Insights
The adage “sell in May and go away”, referring to the historically weaker performance of stocks from May to October compared with the other half of the year, didn’t disappoint this time around, too.
02 September 2024

Investor focus shifts from inflation to jobs

Market updates
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been one the biggest market stories over the past couple of years. At the centre of it all is Nvidia, the California-based company that up until a few years ago was mostly known for its graphic cards used in the video game industry.
26 August 2024

Interest rate cutting cycle gathers momentum

Market updates
With the weak US employment report for July still in mind, investors were anxiously awaiting Federal Reserve (Fed) Chair Powell’s speech at the Jackson Hole Economic Symposium last week. It was his first address to the public since the Fed meeting in late July. Since then, a lot has happened.
Travel Light
21 August 2024

Travel Light

ESG
While it's the excitement of exploring new places that drives us, we should be mindful of the environment we're travelling to. After all, as visitors, we bring with us a carbon footprint that can affect the local community.
19 August 2024

Equity markets recover further

Market updates
After a tough start to August, equity markets around the globe performed positively, celebrating better-than-expected data out of the US (see below). In the US, the tech-heavy NASDAQ Composite index, rose more than the S&P 500, after underperforming in recent weeks in the context of a mixed earnings season.
12 August 2024

Risk appetite recovers

Market updates
In the absence of major economic releases last week, markets took a breather after a sharp fall on Monday, almost paring losses on Friday. The sell-off was due to a trifecta of dynamics triggered the previous week.
05 August 2024

How we navigate volatile markets

Market updates
After another week with some volatile trading sessions, the S&P 500 equity index closed about 2% lower. US Treasuries rallied, with the 10-year yield falling to well below 4% (and, therefore, bond prices rising, as they move inversely to yields) as markets priced in more interest rate cuts by the US Federal Reserve (Fed). That made the US dollar decline against major, currencies, and the gold price move higher.
Why should investors consider adding private markets to their portfolios?
01 August 2024

Why should investors consider adding private markets to their portfolios?

Invest differently
Private markets were once the reserve of sophisticated and institutional investors but have experienced significant growth in recent years. Now, a far broader range of private market investments are available to clients.
29 July 2024

Economic data and interest rate cuts are supportive, but Big Tech earnings fail to impress

Market updates
Last week, investors were faced with both disappointing earnings news and encouraging macro data, resulting in a few volatile sessions for stock markets. Mid-week, the S&P 500 had its worst decline since 2022. However, thanks to favourable US economic growth and inflation data, markets were able to recoup part of the losses at the end of the week.
23 July 2024

A (not so surprising) twist in the US election

Market updates
As suspected by the market for some time, Joe Biden has decided to pull out of the US presidential race, endorsing his Vice President, Kamala Harris. While Harris polls better than Biden, she still lags Donald Trump. Even though there don’t seem to be any obvious challengers within the party, the Democrats can still choose other candidates.
15 July 2024

A busy summer as the US election nears

Market updates
Last week, US Treasury yields fell as US inflation came in lower than markets expected. Global bond yields and the US dollar also fell as markets firmed up their view that the US Federal Reserve (Fed) will cut interest rates in September and December.
Europe revisited
08 July 2024

Europe revisited

Market Insights
A bit like the unpredictable weather we’ve had over the past few weeks, politics has been a rollercoaster. As expected, the UK election delivered a Labour win. While there might be tax and broader fiscal implications at the individual level, the outcome wasn’t unexpected, which is why it hasn’t moved markets that much.
French elections – a hung parliament, with a twist
08 July 2024

French elections – a hung parliament, with a twist

Market Insights
The overall outcome of the French legislative elections came as expected: a hung parliament where no party/alliance managed to secure the absolute majority of 289 seats. But it came with a twist.
UK election: Market insights
05 July 2024

UK election: Market insights

Market Insights
That Labour won a strong absolute majority, and the Conservative Party sank to the lowest result ever isn’t a surprise for markets, given the polls. The next government plans to follow the same fiscal rules as the outgoing one and so, in our view, it will have limited fiscal space. However, there could be modest effects on different groups of consumers and firms.
Influencing change through active ownership
03 July 2024

Influencing change through active ownership

ESG
When we invest in companies and funds, we’re committed to active ownership. It’s an approach that not only enhances the investment process but can also have a positive impact on people and the planet.
01 July 2024

Markets between politics and fundamentals

Market updates
As expected, the right-wing Rassemblement National (RN) won the first round of the French parliamentary election on 30 June. They came ahead of the left-wing alliance of the Nouveau Front Populaire (NFP), relegating president Macron’s centrist coalition to third place. However, the outcome of the second round on 7 July remains highly uncertain.
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