Tag: Portfolio
DPMS Portfolio Commentary August 2024
With a generally positive Q2 now firmly in the rear-view mirror, we are focusing on looking forward to a more accommodating picture for monetary policy for the remainder of 2024. Interest rate cuts are expected across developed markets as inflation starts to ease with growth prospects expected to improve as debt costs fall.
DPMS Portfolio Commentary June 2024
With an improving macro-economic backdrop, May 2024 has provided some strong returns across developed markets as investors look forward to a rate cutting cycle, GDP growth figures start to accelerate and optimism around the Technology sector continues. After some difficulties in Q1, the UK equity market has catapulted forwards as a top performer quarter-to-date to the end of May, following better-than-expected GDP growth figures, which brought the UK out of recession.
DPMS Portfolio Commentary May 2024
Despite a somewhat rocky start to the year, Q1 2024 proved to be very strong across equity markets due to improving profit growth expectations, falling inflation, optimism around interest rate cut timing and excitement around Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the Technology sector. Whilst some elements of inflation proved to be stickier than first thought, markets have shrugged this information off and continue to look to the future with a period of rate cuts from Central Banks albeit at a later staged than initially thought.
DPMS Portfolio Commentary February 2024
2024 had a relatively rocket start with inflation coming in higher than expected across developed markets driving bond yields upwards and capital values down, the Purchasing Manager Index (PMI) surveys showing relatively weak results and geo-political instability in the Middle East unnerved investors. However, recent weeks have seen a reversal of this with some strong Q4 earnings results, improved consumer sentiment and optimism towards the first interest rate cuts since 2020.
DPMS Portfolio Commentary June 2023
After a frustrating Q1 2023, with a sustained market recovery derailed by banking failures, Q2 2023 has been a generally more positive quarter. This comes despite continued nervousness in the market related to the US debt ceiling being called into question (and swiftly resolved), sticky inflation in the UK, US & Europe and possible further interest rate hikes and China’s sluggish economic recovery.
DPMS Portfolio Commentary March 2023
March 2023 has been somewhat of a rollercoaster ride as investors have processed a variety of information, led by markets absorbing news of a number of bank bail outs started with the run on Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and smaller New York based Signature Bank and the impending impact on interest rate policy led by the US Fed.
DPMS Portfolio Commentary February
Given our more cautiously positive outlook for 2023, including a mild economic recession, continuously high interest rates and the reopening of the Chinese economy, the Vizion Wealth Investment Committee have agreed to a shift towards a balance of Defensive and Cyclical equities utilising both Growth and Value styles. This comes in the form of a move towards Value funds in the UK, Europe & North America which have historically outperformed during periods of interest rate increases and a move towards Growth funds in Asia and Emerging Markets in conjunction with the Chinese economy reopening and supply chains becoming re-established.
DPMS Portfolio Commentary December
So far, Q4 of 2022 has been more positive than some anticipated with better-than expected American inflation data and hopes of The Federal Reserve easing rate rises, a less severe beginning to Winter for Europe, hints that China may begin to ease it’s zero-COVID policy and the return of traditional fixed interest as an attractive long term investment following Jeremy Hunt’s reversal of the mini-budget. This all comes despite Central Banks continuing to raise interest rates and warnings of recession across the globe.
DPMS Portfolio Commentary November
As we are expecting the remainder of 2022 to remain volatile with further interest rate hikes and the effects of a recession, the Vizion Wealth Investment Committee have agreed to remain maintain a more defensive style to portfolios, further reduce exposure to Small-Cap Equities, balance our Chinese & Indian Equity exposure and start to increase positioning towards traditional fixed interest given the recent sell off of bond capital values.
DPMS Portfolio Commentary September
Q3 of 2022 has proved much more positive than the first half of the year despite the backdrop of recessionary warnings across the globe. Whilst Central Banks have continued to push interest rates higher at each opportunity, global inflationary figures have started to look as though they are starting to peak, with the US proving the key indicator for global inflation. However, there remain concerns for economic growth forecasts across developed economies being dampened by inflationary pressure and subsequent interest rate rises.
Show me the money!
It’s not surprising that the world of investing can seem complex, especially in the current global economic climate. Investors face an endless supply of market news, many investment choices and often-changing market conditions.
Getting Set for Retirement
Welcome to our Guide to Getting Set for Retirement. As you approach the last five years before your retirement, there will be a lot of things to consider. You’ll need to think about your finances, your health, your housing situation and your plans for the future to live comfortably in retirement. In recent years, the changes to pensions legislation have created greater freedom and choice over how pension assets can be used. However, with freedom and choice comes complexity.
Is Inflation Eating your Savings?
The word ‘inflation’ had barely featured in the market’s vocabulary in the last three decades until it suddenly started to come back with a vengeance in 2021. As higher inflation looks set to persist in 2022, finding ways to generate a return on investments greater than inflation will be a key investment theme – otherwise your wealth falls in real terms.
DPMS Portfolio Commentary August
The second quarter of 2022 proved to be as volatile as the first, with equities and bonds alike suffering declines as inflation soared to record highs across the globe, above almost all economists’ forecasts. Interest rates also began to see increases in an attempt to combat inflation but did little to curb mammoth increases in the cost-of-living, deepening the risk of recession across global economies. The start of Q3 has proved slightly more positive than expected due to better-than-expected Q2 earnings reports from larger US companies, such as Meta, Twitter and Tesla, and President Biden’s announced Infrastructure plans to help...
Getting ready to retire?
Have you ever wondered what you need to consider as you approach retirement? Whatever your concept of what is a good pension pot, one certainty is that relying on the State Pension alone will not give you a good enough pension to live on comfortably through your retirement.
Invest your Way out of Inflation
The word ‘inflation’ had barely featured in the market’s vocabulary in the last three decades until it suddenly started to come back with a vengeance in 2021. As higher inflation looks set to persist in 2022, finding ways to generate a return on investments greater than inflation will be a key investment theme – otherwise your wealth falls in real terms.
DPMS Portfolio Commentary
Welcome to the first Vizion Wealth Discretionary Portfolio Management Service Update. We appreciate the last 5 months has been an extremely turbulent time for the investment markets with high inflation and increasing interest rates which when combined with major global events such as a Ukrainian invasion and further lockdown issues in China has dampened risk appetite. As part of our decision making process in managing your investments, the Vizion Wealth Investment Committee consider the natural cycle of the markets, the current economic environment and projections of various economic variables to help formulate our portfolios.
How Much Do I Need To Save To Retire?
The question, ‘Have I saved enough to retire?’ is a dicult one. It requires a lot of information about you, your family, your income needs in retirement, and an understanding of the various financial vehicles available for saving and investing before it can be answered definitively.
Diversified Portfolio
Even if you are a sophisticated investor, one of the most important tools available is diversification. Whether the market is bullish (rising) or bearish (falling), maintaining a diversified portfolio is essential to any long-term investment strategy.
DPMS Portfolio Commentary October 2024
Now that all developed markets have started cutting interest rates, we are looking forward to a more accommodating period of easing monetary policy heading into 2025. Further cuts are expected over the next 12 months as the era of higher interest rates has been declared over by The Federal Reserve (The Fed), Bank of England (BoE) and European Central Bank (ECB).