Market Update - 07/04/2020

In these extraordinary times, Fidelius is especially aware of the value of keeping our clients updated. While you can obtain specific advice on your individual investments from your dedicated Financial Planner, we feel it is important to provide an overview of market conditions and considerations, especially during this period of heightened volatility across global markets. As part of this, we’ve spoken to Mark Nish, Chief Investment Officer at Parallel Investment Management, and Mark has provided his thoughts.

Mark says:

“Although we may have entered slightly less choppy waters, investors are all too aware that March was the worst month for global equity markets since the financial crisis in 2008.  It is likely that markets will remain volatile until the virus is contained and eradicated; alongside, there will be much debate about the economic impact of the pandemic on the global economy.

The supply shock, created as businesses shut down and supply chains ceased to function has led to unprecedented levels of monetary support and fiscal stimulus from central banks and governments to help citizens and companies.  Unsurprisingly, the great challenge is the transition from announcement to implementation.   

At present, the markets are factoring in a lot of bad news and the next three months are expected to bring worsening economic data.  The key is in identifying which companies will survive this current crisis, as well as understanding different governments’ exit strategies as they seek to get as many individuals back to work as soon as possible without risking a flare up of the infection.

The extent of market falls is such that it will not take too much good news for markets to rise, but for this to be sustained investors need to be confident that the end to this crisis is real and not a mirage.  The one factor investors can control is time, and time has always proved to be a great healer.  This is not the first crisis, and neither will it be the last, and history shows that recovery eventually comes with exceptional rewards for patient investors.  Of course, to reap these rewards investors need to continue to participate and avoid the temptation of trying to time the markets.”

If you are registered with an online investment platform, you can log in to view the exact status of your investments at any time as usual; if you are not yet registered and would like to look into this please feel free to get in touch with your Financial Planner.