Posts Tagged funds

Data to 23 January 2026 Bond markets have started 2026 in a way that total return investors will recognise: income…

2025 was another reminder that defensive investing isn’t about avoiding risk altogether, it’s about choosing the right risks and…

2025 was a strong year for global equities, but it was also a year when where you were invested…

Another month, another gain for stock markets. It can’t continue like this forever and there are clear signs of profit-taking in some of the most popular trades. This feels like a test to see whether a renewed bout of “buy-the-dip” behaviour will drive stocks to fresh highs once the US government re-opens.

Stocks are at record highs and have now risen for five months in a row. Such a hot streak is quite rare, happening only 11 times since 2009. An artificial intelligence (AI) investment boom is at the heart of the rally.

August followed a familiar path with stocks rising for the fourth month in a row. A number of factors are supporting the market, including interest rate cuts from the US and UK, a massive increase in US fiscal stimulus through President Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” and a significant decline in the value of the US dollar

The re-election of Donald Trump to the US Presidency has caused another large rise in US stocks, which were already doing very well. Indeed, his “America first” ideology is reflected in the way US stocks have outperformed others recently.

The cost of borrowing has risen sharply in the past few weeks for the UK and US governments. This has caused stock markets to pause for breath after making strong gains.

Asia remains the centre of attention on the back of a major Chinese stimulus program which has triggered a sharp rally in its stocks. This comes after two months where Japan experienced significant currency volatility and a “flash crash” in its stocks.

It is now more than 12 months since the launch of the MGTS Qualis Funds and in terms of both performance and asset growth, they have been a success.

A Steady Start to 2024 -
The year has begun on a tentative footing following the excesses of November and December, when asset prices galloped higher. Investors have paused to reflect on the ‘wall of worry’ that is said to accompany most bull markets. 

Investors enter 2024 with optimism -
Global stocks closed 2023 with their fourth largest annual return of the last twenty years. But those gains mostly came from a narrow group. The seven largest companies in the US - Apple, Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Nvidia, Facebook & Tesla – returned a colossal 111% on average.