Economic and market insight
Review of the week
Review of the week: The king of viruses?
An aggressive flu has disrupted the Chinese New Year and put the world on high alert. Chief investment officer Julian Chillingworth thinks it’s a bit early to panic, but that could soon be overtaken by a fast-moving virus.
6 mins
Review of the week: America first
China and the US have signed a one-sided trade deal that has got investors excited about the year ahead. Chief investment officer Julian Chillingworth notes recession concerns have been well and truly supplanted.
6 mins
Review of the week: Sky rockets in flight
Stock markets went bananas last year as China and the US appeared to finally agree on trade. But then the killing of a top Iranian general set off geopolitical fireworks. Chief investment officer Julian Chillingworth mulls the consequences.
7 mins
Review of the week : A Christmas Carol
Boris Johnson has won a strong mandate to get on with his Brexit deal, sending sterling shooting higher. But there’s something unusual going on with UK stocks, notes chief investment officer Julian Chillingworth.
5 mins
Crunch time (again)
We don’t know about you, but over the past year or so we got into the habit of buying our travel money extremely far in advance of holidays.
7 mins
Bond life
From his kitchen table our head of fixed income Bryn Jones gives his perspective on the bond life, where emergency stimulus has brought signs of life, but credit remains in a critical condition.
3 mins
No fooling this April
The traditional day of jest seems too bizarre to be true this year. Putting jokes to one side, our multi-asset portfolios fund manager Will McIntosh-Whyte explains what he’s doing about income.
4 mins
All hail the awe-zoom tech
With most people in the UK bundled into lockdown, technology has once again proven itself. Our head of multi-asset investments, David Coombs, gives thanks to his team’s saviour.
3 mins
A sustainable stimulus
As Vladimir Lenin said, “There are decades where nothing happens; and there are weeks where decades happen”. Our stewardship director Matt Crossman tries to grasp what the current pandemic means for the planet and our plans to save it.
3 mins
Working perfectly from home
With markets roiling round the world, the London office has decamped to their ranches on government orders. Rathbone Multi-Asset Portfolios fund manager David Coombs marvels at today’s technology.
3 mins
Sold out
With lots of things getting mispriced in the midst of the coronavirus panic, our chief investment officer Julian Chillingworth extols the virtues of keeping calm and looking beyond the current disruptions.
3 mins
Just paying lip service?
David Harrison, manager of the Rathbone Global Sustainability Fund, having seen first-hand the growing trend of responsible capitalism in America, makes the case for getting up close to see whether companies are really serving all their stakeholders, or just paying lip service.
3 mins
Escaping the ivory towers
The latest ‘tech innovation’ may seem compelling, until you leave the group think echo chambers of London’s ivory towers. Head of multi-asset investments David Coombs considers how looking beyond the M25 can help us see what’s going on in the real world.
3 mins
Valentine’s stay
The novel coronavirus epidemic is threatening thousands of lives as well as the global economy. Multi-asset fund manager Will McIntosh-Whyte explains how the multi-asset portfolio funds are impacted by this humanitarian crisis.
5 mins
Sun, sea and … S&P 500 put options
You should be fixing your roof when the sun is shining, as the saying goes. Our multi-asset investment specialist Craig Brown has been booking his holidays when the rain is pouring. His golden rule: don’t gamble, take the insurance.
3 mins
No bongs but no tears – it could be okay
Big Ben may not be bonging when the UK leaves the EU, but our head of multi-asset investments David Coombs reckons there’s room for some quiet confidence.
3 mins
Johnny-come-Januaries
The new year always drives well-intentioned yet poorly sustained get-fit-quick schemes. That leads multi-asset fund manager Will McIntosh-Whyte to wonder about the durability of subscription service customers in a downturn.
3 mins