Investment

Quarterly Investment Review – Q2 2022

by James Macpherson

Quarterly Investment Review – Q2 2022

At the start of 2022 optimism was building as the lockdowns imposed by Covid were being lifted, and financial markets started to anticipate the release of pent-up demand from the global economy emerging out of the pandemic. Since then a biblical combination of war, famine, pestilence and death have drowned this sentiment, and financial assets have been pummelled. It has been particularly unusual to see the bond and equity markets fall in tandem. For the last forty years whenever the equity market tumbled the bond market provided a safe haven, but starting from record highs, and the arrival of much more inflation than was anticipated, bonds have collapsed. Equities have entered bear market territory, but even the poor performance of the indices has disguised the real damage which has been suffered. Many stocks have fallen more than 60%. Underlying this decline were three unexpected outcomes. First inflation, which was expected to be transitory, has proven to be more persistent, leading to a sharp rise in bond yields and one of the fastest rises in mortgage rates in history. Second China has not ended its harsh policy on omicrom leading to multi-month lockdowns in Shanghai and partial ones in Beijing. For most of this year about a quarter of China’s economy has been impacted, compounding the supply chain problems that have built up over the past two years. Third the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russia created shortages, almost overnight, of numerous commodities. About the only good thing that can be said about the Ukraine situation is that the worst-case scenarios have been avoided so far, but the huge supply shock of losing the world’s biggest producer of energy, industrial metals and agricultural commodities at just the moment that the world was grappling with deglobalisation, and exiting macroeconomic profligacy, combined to create considerable inflationary pressures. This leaves every major economy facing an unpalatable choice of either accepting much higher levels of inflation, or imposing much tighter monetary and fiscal policies than have prevailed in the post 2008 period, which in most cases means recession. The uncertainty of this situation has unsettled markets, and they are unlikely to regain their poise until there is more clarity on what choice policy makers will make.

Click  here to download the full document.

 

 

 

 

 

Past performance is not indicative of future results. The views, strategies and financial instruments described in this document may not be suitable for all investors. Opinions expressed are current opinions as of date(s) appearing in this material only. References to market or composite indices, benchmarks or other measures of relative market performance over a specified period of time are provided for your information only. NS Partners provides no warranty and makes no representation of any kind whatsoever regarding the accuracy and completeness of any data, including financial market data, quotes, research notes or other financial instrument referred to in this document. This document does not constitute an offer or solicitation to any person in any jurisdiction in which such offer or solicitation is not authorized or to any person to whom it would be unlawful to make such offer or solicitation. Any reference in this document to specific securities and issuers are for illustrative purposes only, and should not be interpreted as recommendations to purchase or sell those securities. References in this document to investment funds that have not been registered with the FINMA cannot be distributed in or from Switzerland except to certain categories of eligible investors. Some of the entities of the NS Partners Group or its clients may hold a position in the financial instruments of any issuer discussed herein, or act as advisor to any such issuer. Additional information is available on request. © NS Partners Group

Return to listing
back to
the top
Antonio Mira
CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER, MEMBER OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

Antonio Mira joined NS Partners in 2006 as Group Chief Financial Officer. He heads the corporate functions and is involved in coordinating and implementing the decisions of the Executive Committee.
An experienced bank auditor, Antonio started his career in 1995 with Arthur Andersen, where he worked for some 7 years before joining Ernst & Young in 2002 as a Senior Manager.
Antonio is a Swiss chartered accountant and a Business graduate of Lausanne University (HEC).

Sébastien Poiret
DEPUTY HEAD OF WEALTH MANAGEMENT

Sébastien Poiret joined NS Partners in 2008 and manages funds of hedge funds and private client mandates. He also oversees the development of the Group’s offices in Mauritius.

Prior to joining NS Partners, he served as a Trader, Head of Manager research and Portfolio Manager in the USA and Switzerland for a single hedge fund (1998-2004) and for Optimal (2004-2008), Grupo Santander’s fund-of-hedge funds operations.

Sébastien holds a Bachelor’s degree in Corporate Finance from the ESPEME Business School (EDHEC Group) and an MBA in Finance and Economics from the Institute of Business Administration, both in Nice.

Abir Oreibi
BOARD DIRECTOR

Abir Oreibi joined the Board of the NS Partners Group in 2018, where she brings her truly international perspective and rich experience.
Among many other ventures, Abir set up Alibaba.com’s first European office. After living and working in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Bangkok and London, she now lives in Geneva, where she is CEO of Lift Events, an organization that identifies technology trends, their business and social impact through the organization of events and open innovation programs. Issues related to the challenges and opportunities created by new technologies as well as the strategic responses from organizations are at the heart of Lift’s activities.
Abir holds a BA in Political Sciences from the University of Geneva. She is an investor, and member of advisory and innovation boards.

Romain Pidoux, CAIA

Add Your Heading Text Here

Romain Pidoux joined NS Partners in 2011 and heads the Group’s Risk Management.
He started his financial career in 2005 as Head of Quantitative Analysis for a Swiss Family Office, selecting funds and managing portfolio allocation. In 2008, he switched to the alternative world and joined Peak Partners as hedge funds analyst.
He is a Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA) and holds a Master’s degree in international relations from the Graduate Institute of International Studies at Geneva University.

Your browser is not supported. Please use another browser.