Portfolio December 2023

Investors have enjoyed pleasing returns over the last two months. Hopes of a soft landing for the economy, rapidly falling rates of inflation, and normalising capital market interest rates have provided a boost to almost all asset classes. The monetary policy stance of central banks confirmed this trend last week.

In 2023, the financial markets’ performance was shaped by central bank efforts to tackle inflation by way of restrictive monetary policies. The Swiss National Bank was particularly successful in this respect. The Fed has left its key interest rates unchanged since mid-2023, and its forecasts point to a fall in rates for the coming year. But what are the growth prospects for the world economy? Will monetary policy remain tight? What are the geopolitical stumbling blocks?

And how should investors react to this market environment? You’ll find our assessment here.