Market Update – Sept 2020

We would like to keep you updated on how financial markets are performing throughout the covid-crisis.

The market recovery has continued as the number of new cases and deaths reported each day started to fall and restrictions imposed to combat the spread of COVID-19 were eased, providing hope that a return to some kind of normality was in sight. More recently, concerns about a second wave of the virus and rising trade tensions between the US and China have weighed on market sentiment, although the performance of US technology companies and continued recovery across other sectors has provided support.

There has been modest growth across the board in the past couple of months, following the initial recovery seen throughout April/May/June. There is certainly still value in investing in the markets, with some asset classes and sectors still substantially down on February valuations. See below for a table showing the performance over the past year for a range of sectors.

 

	3 months	6 months	12 months
US Equities	6.63%	14.32%	8.84%
UK Equities	1.38%	(6.13%)	(9.03%)
European Equities	6.83%	9.00%	3.49%
Emerging Markets Equities	12.69%	7.00%	3.57%
Property	2.14%	(7.92%)	(8.61%)
Energy / Commodities	5.20%	11.96%	0.01%
Technology & Telecoms	14.34%	30.88%	32.84%
Global Bonds	0.50%	1.05%	(0.37%)

 

Recent market gains have been driven by a number of sectors (the US and technology especially) and there are sectors which have shown recovery but still represent good value, with the potential for further gains (like UK equities and property). It is important to have a good spread of assets and active management will ensure that the opportunities in each sector are seized when they arise.

Check how your investments are performing

If you have existing investments or pensions you should be reviewing how these are invested and performing at this stage. A properly managed investment portfolio should be able to limit losses in volatile times and excel in the upturn. You should also be carefully assessing the amount of risk that you are taking with your investments and ensuring this is in line with your objectives and requirements.

Any person in a position to invest capital should also be assessing the opportunities available, as there are good opportunities for long-term growth with fund prices still low currently.

If you would like a free consultation, including analysis of your current investments, please contact us to arrange a call with one of our advisers.

Performance Figures

We have included below the mixed-investment sector performance graphs for the last 1 and 5 years. I have also included a 10-year performance table with full details about the performances of these sectors.

UT Mixed Investment 0-35% shares (blue) = Cautious to Moderate Risk

UT Mixed Investment 20-60% shares (red) = Moderate Risk

UT Mixed Investment 40-85% shares (black) = Moderate to Adventurous Risk

(information gathered today using FE Analytics – prices as of close of 02/09/20)

1 year performance chart

 

 

 

 

 

 

5 year performance chart

 

 

 

 

 

 

10 year performance table

 

 

 

 

 

As you can see from the table and graphs above, we are now in roughly the same position as one year ago, which is reassuring. Long term growth remains extremely good.

If you would like further information or advice then please contact us via email to request a call.