Investment newsletter - January 2018

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Investment Newsletter January 2018

New year, new trends? Time is an odd thing. Over the Christmas break, I found out why Spaniards eat so late in the day - bearing in mind that most of Spain is on the same longitude as the UK, why aren’t they in sync with us?

Neal Foundly Investment Analyst

Popular lore has it that this is due to the weather and higher temperatures in summer. Whilst this may be a quaint story for the tourists, the truth according to a BBC article is that in 1940 General Franco moved Spain’s time zone one hour forward to show solidarity with Germany. As a result the country sits down to meals at least an hour later than us, perpetuating the image of long siestas and dinners deep into the night.

All Time Records Talking of time passing, the asset markets cruised into 2018 without a blip. In fact, the UK FTSE 100 Index

finished with a flurry in December and rounded the year off with an overall return of 11.95% whilst in the US the S&P Index returned 10.62% in sterling terms. Both markets finished at all-time highs. If you have been reading our newsletters, you will be aware that 2017 was uncharacteristically quiet for equity markets with very, very low levels of volatility. This trend has continued into 2018 and, at the time of writing (17 January 2018) the S&P 500 has gone 391 days without a 5% pull-back, the second longest in history - if this continues for another four days, it will be the longest streak on record. Whilst the equity markets have enjoyed such a good time, it should be remembered that their valuations also stand at very high levels. It is true to say that the global economic outlook has improved and corporate earnings growth has picked up.

Equilibrium Asset Management LLP (OC316532) and Equilibrium Investment Management LLP (OC390700) are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and are entered on the financial services register under references 452261 and 776977 respectively. Registered Offices: Brooke Court, Lower Meadow Road, Handforth Dean, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 3ND. Both companies are registered in England and Wales.


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