2025 reflections: How strong companies trumped politics

Reflecting on outlooks from a year ago can be a humbling experience. This time last December, it was difficult to have a conversation about markets that didn't include the word ‘tariffs'. Certainly, at points this year, it seemed like premonitions had come true. The market drop in the spring was right off the back of the tariff policies released by Trump on ‘Liberation Day'. Within six days, the MSCI World total return fell 9.8% when measured in sterling. But arguably, more remarkable than the drop was the recovery. By July, the MSCI World was breaking even for the year, and by August...