Giovanni Becchere
Head of Multi-Assets, ABN AMRO Investment Solutions. Based in: Paris, France
“As a result of lockdowns, the global economy has experienced the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. Stimulus measures are adaptative and will continue to support a post-virus economic rebound. Most developed economies have already passed the bottom as the fall of activity was the consequence of a non-coordinated yet global policy decision to lockdown. We expect the sharp downturn to be followed by a slightly flatter upturn that ultimately goes beyond the pre-coronavirus level of GDP. In this context the portfolio is unchanged.”
Luca Dal Mas
Senior fund analyst, Aviva Investors. Based in: London, UK
“In May, markets continued their upward trajectory, supported by expectations of economic recovery following a relaxation in lockdown measures. Following China’s national security law imposed on Hong Kong, relations between the US and China worsened alarmingly. In Europe, the Franco-German proposal for a recovery fund could signal a historic step change in the continent’s fiscal policy. With funding conditions improving and attractive valuations, we added to investment grade credit by taking profit from emerging market debt.”
Kelly Prior
Investment Manager in the Multi-manager team, BMO Global Asset Management. Based in: London, UK
“The tentative reopening of locked down economies, married with the continued stimulus from central banks, resulted in another positive month for asset prices. The slowing pace of the pandemic in the G7 overshadowed the poor economic data, though bond markets appear to be taking a less euphoric stance to the situation. This is an impossible to predict outcome for markets. All we do know is there is much we do not know right now, so making sure you are being rewarded for any risk being taken is key. We remain wary of volatility from here.”
Gayathri Devarakonda
Fund Research Analyst, Deutsche Bank Wealth Management. Based in: London, UK
“Global markets continued their strong performance in May as focus shifted to reduced infection rate and gradual reopening of economies. Equities performed strongly with growth and small cap stocks outperforming value. In fixed income, while the global government bonds were flat, the US high yield segment performed strongly. The portfolio did very well. Our emerging market debt exposure which dragged the performance down over the last few months registered strong returns last month. We made no changes.”
Silvia Tenconi
Multimanager Investments & Unit Linked, Eurizon Capital SGR. Based in: Milan, Italy
“In May, the performance of the portfolio was positive, with Allianz Europe Equity Growth being the biggest contributor, but with satisfying results from Fidelity European Dynamic Growth, Baillie Gifford Japan and Vanguard US Opportunities. Europe seems to be catching up with the other developed markets, while a style rotation towards more cyclical names is gaining traction. While we acknowledge the improving economic landscape, we keep a high-quality bias in Europe and a low exposure to emerging markets for the time being.”
Richard Troue
Fund Manager, Hargreaves Lansdown Fund Managers. Based in: Bristol, UK
“The US market has risen nearly 40 per cent from its lows. Valuations, once again, look lofty. The Findlay Park American approach is defensive. They held up well initially and they’ve lagged the rebound. Overall they’re slightly ahead of the market. They hold good companies at reasonable valuations, plus have cash to take advantage of opportunities and shelter from falls. This has worked superbly well over the long-term. The US is so big it’s impossible to ignore. But with high-calibre managers like this I’m comfortable with exposure through the cycle.”
Bernard Aybran
CIO Multi-management, Invesco. Based in: Paris, France
“As markets managed to settle down in May, the portion of the portfolio allocated to money markets has been reduced. The proceeds have been put at work in a couple of equity investments. First on an US index tracking ETF, as actively managed funds are still struggling to outperform. On the European equity side, an actively managed fund has been added, on the basis of a strong, long standing, growth bias, the only way European portfolios have been able to outperform the main indices. The dispersion of performances in European funds is as wide as it’s been.”
Paul Hookway,
Senior Fund Analyst, Kleinwort Hambros. Based in: London, UK
“Global markets continued their rally in May, with the MSCI World climbing around 7 per cent in sterling terms, driven by strong performances from Japan, Europe and the US. The UK, Asia and emerging markets were the laggards. We did not increase our equity allocation as in our opinion there are too many unknowns for us to have confidence in the sustainability of the rally; we anticipate a better entry point to increase this in coming months. Within equity we did reduce the Japanese and UK positions; increasing the US and European exposure.”
Antti Saari
Chief Investment Strategist, Nordea investments. Based in: Copenhagen, Denmark
“Although economies are opening up and both central banks and governments have provided unprecedented amounts of support, risks of an extended downturn linger. Worries regarding the trade war have also resurfaced, and equity valuations look very extended. We think the best advice for investors is not to take extra risk here. However, we do find enticing opportunities in high-yield and emerging market bonds. These certainly come with higher-than-usual risks, but we find the balance still tilts in favour of trying to capture these in the coming months.”
