James Klempster: The 2020 rollercoaster ride

'Resist urge to be reactionary'

clock • 4 min read

How to sum up 2020 so far? Asks James Klempster. Well, a rollercoaster is probably the best way to describe it, both from an emotional perspective but also in terms of what the markets have been up to

Over the first quarter, market participants went from being blissfully ignorant to a state of panic as the significance of global lockdowns became apparent and investors were left wondering what the crisis would mean for the economy and companies; not to mention the humanitarian cost.    By mid-March, market selloffs hit fever pitch with limit downs introduced days on the trot. Selling went from prescient to indiscriminate as investors ceased differentiating between good investments and bad, preferring to conflate any ‘risk' as bad and jumping ship.  Cross asset correlations jumped to...

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