Our April market comment: The decline in investments in oil or copper production, for example, which has been observed for some time now, shows that commodities deserve their place in an investment allocation despite volatility.

Our March market comment: To the surprise of almost all global economists and contrary to the market consensus view, the US economy maintained 2023 a solid rate of growth relative to the previous year at 2.5%.

Our February market comment: How well Europe’s single-currency area is actually doing? Our view: not too badly, but with increasing risks. Politically speaking, the Eurozone appears more stable internally than was the case before.

Our January market comment: The Swiss economy is likely to perform at a respectable level relative to other global economies in 2024.

Our November market comment: Since 2022, the stocks of small- and mid-cap companies have tended to lag behind the performance of those of their large-cap blue chip counterparts in many countries.

Our October market comment: An issue that is increasingly generating debate is the question of whether we might be about to see a real estate correction and, if we do, on what scale.

Our September market comment: The field of artificial intelligence is becoming ever more prominent in people’s minds this year in light of the emergence of increasingly sophisticated chatbots.

Our July / August market comment: In recent times, many market participants have once again become aware of the structure of the US yield curve. 

Our June market comment: In light of the many special factors that have influenced economic activity in the Eurozone over recent months and the fact that some of these are by no means over, the question arises as to just how well the Eurozone is actually doing?

Our May market comment: Despite headwinds emanating from the equity markets, the US was able to present a fairly pleasing economic picture in 2022.

Our April market comment: Switzerland is currently proving to be an island of stability in terms of its currency, the Swiss franc, but also in terms of inflation.

Our March market comment: More than a year has now passed since Russia launched its attack on Ukraine and triggered a war with global consequences. But what have been the demonstrable consequences of this war?  

Our February market comment: Inflation, stagnation or recession. Which term best describes the situation and represents the primary risk? 

Our January market comment: The surprising change of course in the coronavirus policy of China’s leadership has led to a significant recovery in Chinese and other Asian financial markets since December.

Our December market comment reports on possible parallels between the correction in equities observed since the beginning of 2022 and the major correction experienced 22 years ago.

Our November market comment reports on the increasing stagflation risks.

Our October market comment reports on the US mid-term elections of the US Congress at the start of November this year.

In mid-September 2022, our Chief Investment Officer, Gérard Piasko, and Marc Jäggi, Head Moderation at Radio 1, shed light on the impact of central bank activities on the current interest rate situation.

In mid-September 2022, our Chief Investment Officer, Gérard Piasko, and Marc Jäggi, Head Moderation at Radio 1, shed light on the impact of central bank activities on the current interest rate situation.

Our September market comment reports on commodity investments in times of above-average rates of inflation by historical standards.

Our July market comment reports on persistently high level of consumer price inflation and a new monetary stance.

At the end of June 2022, our Chief Investment Officer, Gérard Piasko, spoke with Marc Jäggi, Head Moderation at Radio 1, about the medium-term monetary policy of the US and Switzerland and the need for further interest rate hikes.

Interest rate hikes and historically elevated inflation are making “value” stocks even more interesting. We already pointed to their potential in April 2021. In this market comment, we shed light on the rotation that has commenced from more expensively valued “high-flyer” IT growth stocks towards more cheaply valued “value” stocks. Will it continue? Or will we see temporary breaks?

The financial markets hope that the Ukraine conflict will soon be replaced by “business as usual”. They appear to have got used to the war, as it has not escalated any further to date. Nevertheless, the current state of the conflict, which could last for an extended period, is set to keep inflation historically high. What does it mean for corporate profits and the global economy?

Since the start of the year, there have been clear signs from the world’s major central banks that they intend to embark on a marked, albeit gradual change in monetary policy. The interest rate turnaround is upon us, with the stimulus provided for global growth and the financial markets being ramped down.