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Its Not Harry

Comment and opinion for retail investors in the UK

Markets

Midweek musings – Santa Rally this year?

23rd November 2022 by Mark Potter Leave a Comment

After a healthy and sustained period of growth from mid October, global equity markets, as recorded by the MSCI World Index fell back a little in the last week, but the chart still has a solid looking recovery on the right hand side. I have suggested that the market has been poised to react to good news for some time and the slightly more dovish tone of central bankers, slowdown in consumption data and weaker employment numbers will all have been taken as leading indicators that the worst of the monetary tightening (ie rising interest rates and the end of QE) is behind us.

In the UK, the Hunt mini-budget brought the expected fiscal tightening (ie tax rises and spending cuts). That was all as expected and indeed, much had been leaked in advance to soften up expectations. UK markets were more fraught about the prognostications for the UK economy from the OBR, the Bank of England (which has certainly well and truly fallen out with the government) and global economic forecasters.

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Filed Under: Asset Allocation, Economics, Markets, Politics, Portfolios

Midweek Musings – a turning point and buying opportunities?

16th November 2022 by Mark Potter Leave a Comment

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Filed Under: Markets, Members Only, Monthly commentary

Midweek Musings – Bonds Q&A

11th October 2022 by Mark Potter Leave a Comment

I am pausing my mini-series of posts on selecting bond funds for specific objectives to write about some high level issues, because what has been happening in the fixed income markets recently has been so remarkable that it is being described as a ‘first’ by specialist managers with over 30 years experience.

I will pose and answer some questions but would welcome others from readers with a view to publishing the answers in another post. Please use the comments option or email me if you prefer.

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Filed Under: Academic theory, Asset Allocation, Economics, Funds, Markets, Members Only, Monthly commentary, Politics

Watching Brief – October 2022

7th October 2022 by Mark Potter Leave a Comment

Pottering About

Basics about bases

My slightly later than usual start to writing this piece has followed a brief recovery spurt in global equity markets, indicating that if there is even the merest hint of a slow down and reversal of the hawkish attitude of the US Federal Reserve, markets are poised and waiting to inflect to a positive or even bull run after a gloomy period now running to almost a year.

The ending of the 12 months since the current bear market got under way will see all the short term data look a bit different because of what is called ‘base effects’.   Let me explain.

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Filed Under: Markets, Members Only, Monthly commentary, Portfolios

Midweek Musings – how low can we go?

7th September 2022 by Mark Potter Leave a Comment

We’re are all doomed, Captain Truss

As Ms Truss gets started as Prime Minister, its seems that there is nothing but a gloomy few months to look forward to in Britain. Investors are certainly taking that view because I read that nearly £7 billion has been withdrawn from UK focused investment funds this year (Source: FT).

Of course, the withdrawals might be all by UK investors scared of markets (amateur investors always withdraw money when markets have fallen sharply, according to most research) but it is likely that some of that money has been re-allocated elsewhere by international investors. A recent international bank economic forecast had the UK as the most likely region of the world to suffer a recession.

To a degree, none of the above is evidence of anything concrete – it is just behavioural. However, the human psychological behaviour of market participants is, in my view, the main driver of market valuations.

Economics is only of relevance insofar as it puts some words and fairly naive theory around the living conditions (especially financial aspects) of us all and that might help predict our behaviour!

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Filed Under: Markets, Members Only, Monthly commentary

Watching Brief – September 2022

1st September 2022 by Mark Potter Leave a Comment

Pottering About

August was the football commentators’ legendary ‘game of 2 halves’.

The month started with a continuing rise in the value of the major stock markets and even a flurry of meme stock silliness in Bed, Bath and Beyond, exploited ruthlessly by one Ryan Cohen (his actions now being the subject of a class law action, I read). 

The month ended with a very negative reaction to the Fed’s hawkish line on interest rates (surely no real surprise?) and markets losing all the gains they made over the last few weeks.

Have the pessimists turned out to be right? 

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Filed Under: Asset Allocation, Basics, Markets, Members Only, Monthly commentary, Portfolios

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