Share markets fell sharply in January, with the catalyst for investor angst not having been Omicron, but instead fears over rising interest rates, and the knock-on impact to share prices. Tech stocks have been at the epicentre of the sell-off as valuations, which have been elevated, are now under scrutiny…

Shares continue to drive returns with international shares doing most of the work pushed along by the US share market (which is 56% of global markets). Prices for the 5 largest companies on the US market (Apple, Microsoft, Google, Amazon, and Facebook) increased by a whopping average of 38% over the year…

Over the last few months share markets have risen further on the back of global economic recovery and hopes that the impact of Covid-19 is beginning to recede. Interestingly, the appearance of the Omicron variant while rattling markets hasn’t dented the broadly positive sentiment…

The last year was a game of two halves with the first six months providing over 80% of portfolio returns. Overall, virtually all client portfolio returns came from shares and property. Bond returns were negative over the year due to interest receipts being outweighed by falling bond values as interest rates rise. The current mood in share markets is one of optimism…

Risk and uncertainty are always present in markets, but because of Covid-19 and the seemingly unstoppable rise of share markets, the current outlook is more complex than usual…