At the start of 2022 investors needed reminding that investing is not an easy game, despite having enjoyed around a decade of relatively strong – and fairly consistent - market returns, even in light of a global pandemic, recession, and political polarisation. 2022 has laid bare the fact that investing can very much be a game of ‘three steps forward, one step back’. If there was no risk of market downside, it would be unreasonable to expect any return at all above cash. This short note provides a brief look at the past 12 months, and highlights some of the lessons we can learn as investors.

It has certainly been a lively time in the markets and in the media over the past few days, and we thought it would be useful to pen a piece about what has been going on. The reality is that the majority of headline catching accusations of crashing the pound, causing high inflation and driving bond yields are broadly global issues, not simply related to the mini-budget. The Pound's weakness is a reflection of persistent dollar strength against most currencies; inflation in the Eurozone at above 9% is little different to the UK; US yields have risen quickly and sit above 4% alongside the UK.

The news today can feel a little bit unsettling. There is no doubt that these are tough emotional times for investors. Russia’s invasion and brutal war in Ukraine is unsettling on both a human and an economic level. In this article we provide some tips to help keep things in perspective at this challenging emotional time.

Russia's threatened invasion of Ukraine, soaring inflation, rising bond yields and weak equity markets all raise the feeling of uncertainty. In this note we try to put this in perspective and have updated our chart showing the long-term rise of global markets, despite major world and health events. We remind readers that this uncertainty is not a valid reason for reducing equity exposure.

Anyone relatively new to investing could be forgiven for thinking that it is a simple game and easy to make money i.e. punt on what is going up most and buy the dips. Perhaps even those who have been investing for a decade or more might be thinking the same. In this short note we take a quick look back at what has happened in the recent past and how best to structure a portfolio today for the years ahead, given that we live and invest in an uncertain world.

If you have ever been fortunate enough to swim in the azure tropical waters of the Caribbean, or on Bondi Beach amongst the surfers, or in the chilly waters of Cape May (where the film ‘Jaws’ that scared the 1970s generation out of the water was filmed) in the back of your mind may have lurked the thought that a large shark might just be out there looking for lunch.