November 2019 Market Update

Welcome to the November edition of your monthly market update. Through this update we keep you in the loop on on what happened in markets last month and what it means for you (and your money).

So, what happened in the markets last month?

• Two positive news cycles helped grow global markets including businesses reporting better than anticipated quarterly earnings and renewed progress on the U.S.-China trade negotiations.
• In Europe, the German economy returned to positive growth after a number of slower than anticipated months.
• The  U.K. remained Brexit focused with a new exit date giving strength to the pound. At the end of the month, the government successfully scheduled a general election for 12th December.
• The U.S. interest rate was cut for a third time this year to better power economic growth.

And how are investments performing?

• A positive outlook on global investment markets encouraged people to sell bonds in favour of equities causing the bond market to dip. This movement, along with a strengthening pound, had an impact on some of our portfolios but thanks to our currency-neutral strategy - where we hedge some of our investments overseas - we saw stable performance across the board.
• This month’s strongest performer? The (currency hedged) North American holding which grew by 3.17%.
• The worst performers? The Emerging Market government bond holding which fell by -4.94% last month.

Lastly, what does all this mean for me and my money?

It may be tempting to pull the duvet over your head and ignore doing anything with your money until post-Brexit. But, a gentle reminder. The history of the world has shown us that investors who keep their money invested over the long run (and regularly contribute to tax efficient accounts like ISAs or Pensions) are more likely to be rewarded than those who keep the majority of their money invested in cash or bonds.

The most important factor to counter any short-term uncertainty is making sure your money is diversified across a variety investments around the world, so when conditions in one country change, it can be balanced by investments you have elsewhere.

That’s all for now but in the meantime check out our latest article on the five most common financial questions we get asked and if you have any questions, you can always reach out to support@wealthsimple.com or book a call with a member of our investment team here.

Take care,

James

Investment Adviser

Wealthsimple