Market View Q1 2020

Ongoing trade negotiations continue to dominate our thinking on markets while the coronavirus has emerged as a new threat. This document describes our long term investment views. We have already made some structural changes to future-proof portfolios this year, while we maintain a cautious stance overall.

by Kasim Zafar, 12th March 2020

This document presents a summary of our investment views. It explains our latest thinking on world markets and the most recent decisions we have made about what to buy and sell within your portfolio.

Please note that our views may change at any time.

Future proofing portfolios

After careful analysis we’ve decided to reduce our allocation to UK equities across portfolios because we believe that will deliver better risk-adjusted returns for clients.

This is a strategic decision and we plan to rebalance portfolios over at least four quarters, depending on market conditions. For a brief summary of our reasoning behind this change, please see the article on future-proofing in our Spring 2020 newsletter. For a more detailed picture, please refer to our recent blog post.

About the author: Kasim Zafar

Kasim graduated with a BSc (Hons) in Physics from Imperial College and is a CFA charter holder, being a regular member of the CFA Institute and CFA UK. He began his career in investments in 2002, gaining experience as a portfolio manager and senior analyst of global capital markets. His experience spans multiple asset classes, constructing portfolios with varying risk/return objectives and active risk management processes.

Kasim is the portfolio manager for the EQ Investors Best Ideas portfolios. He is an active member of the investment management, strategic asset allocation and fund selection committees.

When not immersed at work, Kasim often finds himself stumped and constantly amazed by his young daughter at home. He also enjoys spending time in the kitchen practising his “cheffy” skills with both European and Asian cuisine, reflecting his mixed background.