Global stock markets delivered robust gains thus far in 2019, outperforming all other asset classes. This strength continued during the second quarter as dovish central bank commentary outweighed the preponderance of weak economic data and tariff fatigue. Key developments during the second quarter included aggressive declines in bond yields, continued yield curve inversion in major markets, rallying equity markets led by US stocks, "growth" continuing to outperform "value," disparate performance among commodities, and reduced pricing of risk as indicated by narrowing CDS spreads in most c
U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Powell's shift to more accommodative policies and improving confidence surrounding U.S.-China trade negotiations were the primary drivers of strong first-quarter gains for most asset classes. As seen in Chart 1, Q1 performance was an abrupt reversal from the fourth quarter swoon. Global equities, as measured by the MSCI World Index, gained 12.5% as measured in U.S. Dollars, led by U.S. equities and, most notably, high-priced "growth" stocks. Non-U.S.
2018 was a challenging environment for all asset classes, but particularly in equities, where negative returns were delivered across nearly all major markets and industries. We outperformed market benchmarks during the fourth quarter and for the full year, as our intrinsic value discipline kept us out of many significant decliners, especially among banks, highly cyclical businesses, and previously high-flying tech stocks.
The Altrinsic International Equity Portfolio delivered a 3.8% return during the third quarter, outperforming the 1.4% gain by the MSCI EAFE Index as measured in U.S. dollars. Strong equity market gains during the quarter masked a challenging environment characterized by a significant divergence in underlying stocks’ performance. The dominance by a small group of high-priced and crowded U.S.
The Altrinsic International Equity Portfolio gained 1.3% during the first quarter, outperforming the 1.5% decline by the MSCI EAFE Index as measured in U.S.
The world is changing fast. The threat of disruption is real and growing with the potential for catastrophic outcomes for companies and industries across the globe. Once formidable barriers to entry are breaking down under the onslaught of new, fast-moving competitors empowered by the changing dynamics of the mobile internet age.
The Altrinsic International Equity Portfolio gained 7.7% during the third quarter, outperforming gains of 6.4% and 6.9% for the MSCI EAFE and ACWI ex-US indices, respectively, as measured in U.S. dollars. Stock-specific factors were the primary drivers of outperformance, led by positions in the technology, energy, telecommunications, consumer staples, and industrial sectors.
The Altrinsic International Equity Portfolio gained 3.1% during the second quarter. By comparison, the MSCI EAFE declined 1.5% and the MSCI ACWI ex-U.S. Index was down 0.6% as measured in U.S. dollars. Stock-specific factors were the primary sources of outperformance amidst an eventful macro backdrop. During the quarter, British citizens voted to leave the European Union, concerns about the European banking system intensified, Middle East unrest spread to distant lands, and the yields on U.S. Treasuries fell near their lowest level ever.
'Imagine being a table to re-writ the genetic kode of any organism including tumans.' This sentence obviously makes no sense. Now imagine these spelling mistakes occurred in your genetic code (genome). Your genome is made up of a four letter alphabet, consists of three billion letters and resides in every one of the cells in your body. It defines who you are. To put this in perspective, the Complete Works of William Shakespeare is based on a 26 letter alphabet and has about six million letters.
International equity market returns were relatively flat for the year, measured in local currency, but this result masked the significant dispersion in performance among stock, bond, currency, and commodity markets. These muddling markets appear to be increasingly recognizing fragile underlying fundamentals including lingering global imbalances, eroding confidence in policymakers, a slowing Chinese economy, intensifying geopolitical risks, and the vulnerability of U.S. corporate profit margins.
