Question this week

State pension uprating for EU resident recipients has been guaranteed by the Government for how many years?

a) 15

b) No years

c) 3

d) 10

The correct answer is C

Quote of the week 

The mountain of negative-yielding government bonds has fallen from a staggering $17trn to about $11trn today”

Guy Monsoon, of Sarasin, quoting Bloomberg Barclays Global Negative Yielding Debt Aggregate – Jan 2020

Sarasin Fund Managers

The three biggest threats facing investors in 2020

By Guy Monson, chief investment officer at Sarasin & Partners

2019 was a year of astonishing contrasts. For financial markets, it was a ‘vintage’ year, with almost all investable assets generating returns above inflation. Meanwhile, in the real world, economic conditions worsened. The IMF forecasted global growth of just 3% – the lowest in a decade.

So what of the future? The fragile ‘Goldilocks’ scenario, which was so rewarding for markets in 2019, will not easily be repeated in 2020. Below, we outline the macroeconomic assumptions which guide our assessment of the biggest investment risks and opportunities ahead.

Supportive backdrop

Our first broad assumption is US President Donald Trump will need to maintain economic momentum well into the 2020 election – even more so since his actions in Iraq. This will require de-escalating international trade disputes. Already it appears a ‘Phase One’ trade agreement with China is largely complete, and the White House has succeeded in getting the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) signed by all parties.

We also believe global monetary conditions will likely remain generous in 2020. The Federal Reserve’s Jerome Powell stated it would take a material reassessment in the outlook to warrant a shift in the Fed’s accommodative policy, and Christine Lagarde, the new ECB chair, announced no change to the current bond purchasing programme. The People’s Bank of China will continue to support liquidity in the local banking system, and we expect other emerging world banks to continue to loosen.

As governments look to mitigate populist pressures and buttress domestic growth, we also foresee continued fiscal expansion. The Trump administration is already running a massive 4.6% of GDP deficit, Japan ran a 2.9% deficit in 2019, and the UK’s new government has committed up to £80bn for regional infrastructure spending. European fiscal spending continues to creep higher, with further funding likely under the banner of ‘green budgets’.

Shifting dynamics

In principle, these trade, monetary and fiscal policies should act together to support a fragile world economy in 2020. If we are right, this should trigger a modest firming of manufacturing data, a recovery in global trade volumes and, in time, a gradual rise in bond yields. 

To some extent this already began last quarter. The inversion of the US yield curve seen over the summer has reversed, the mountain of negative-yielding government bonds has fallen from a staggering $17trn to about $11trn today , while the US 10-year yield has risen by 35bps from summer lows.

Even modest rises in bond yields will likely alter equity market leadership, and if the moves are significant, this could trigger a rise in financial market volatility. There is already some evidence of the former – high valuation Silicon Valley IPOs have suffered recently, global value indices have rallied since the summer, while bank stocks have climbed strongly as the yield curve has steepened.

There has also been a catch up in non-US equity indices versus their US equivalents, notably in Japan, Germany and France over the last quarter of 2019. These trends are likely to continue and suggest a less US-growth-dominated backdrop for global equity investors.

Guarding against risks

Military and security threats are a rising risk to financial markets. The US drone strike that killed the Iranian Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani marks a pivot towards direct confrontation with Iran. A more belligerent North Korea has also left defence officials across the Pacific prepared for the worst. Finally, US-Soviet relations continue to deteriorate, with a series of military and nuclear arms control agreements void or soon to expire. In this context, we continue to hold gold, higher than normal cash positions and rolling programmes of portfolio insurance.

Another concern relates to the continued build-up of global debt and the steady deterioration in the quality of corporate bond issuance. Both the World Bank and the IMF issued warnings last year highlighting the rise in private sector debt, particularly in the emerging world. We have acted by reducing almost all our exposure to high yield, emerging world debt and leveraged loans or related products. Overall debt quality averages A to A+ across our balanced funds.

Finally, we see additional ESG challenges coming into focus this year in the area of Extended Producer Responsibility – where producers are held liable for the treatment or disposal of post-consumer products. Fast fashion could become the next plastic ocean, as the industry is forced to confront the disposal of about 70% of all clothing produced today . We will be looking across supply chains, scrutinising commitments to recycle and re-use, and watching for new liabilities, particularly in the retail, food, fashion and clothing industries.

Read again here

https://ifac.eu/download/get_file.php?download_id=aG1VUVZ2ZFFlU2ZkWW5ybzlZVUtlQT09

Managing Conflicts  of Interest

Principle 8 of the Financial Conduct Authority's Principles for Businesses requires a firm to "manage conflicts of interest fairly, both between itself and its customers and between a customer and another client."   Under the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive investment firms are required to maintain and operate effective organisational and administrative arrangements.

This document consolidates your intent into a succinct document.  You need to read it, file it and refer to it when required.  Saved also in doc library.

What a difference a year makes!

Already the markets are up – close to twenty per cent in most markets last year, directly crediting the bottom line of most IFAs.

The US market is at an all time high, and anyone who knows the East coast of USA will know that business is booming out there.  For the first time in many years, I can state again, that there has never been a better time to be an IFA.  

Most of the regulatory changes are behind us, and the new Treasury minister is unlikely to allow further unrestrained regulatory tightening by FCA.  Markets are up – but still showing valuations that by historical standards are remarkably cheap, and the supply of IFAs is at an all time low.  You will never see such a good time to be an IFA.

Business looking to acquire an IFA

And here is the proof, as another IFAC have taken on a client who is seeking to list in 2020 on the public market – Junior AIM.

The firm needs to tee up a couple of big deals in the next twelve months (ie to spend the cash that they raise).

Are you thinking to cash in?

Do you really not believe what we say about the future?

If yes, then contact charlie.palmer@ifac.eu for a confidential referral to the buyer.