Equities
US stocks and bonds are on a collision course. Only a meaningful equity selloff is likely to pull bond yields considerably lower. Global equity risk-reward looks poor. The dollar will stay firm near term, but its medium- and long-term outlook remains bearish.
US growth remains positive and is now improving, with the economy seemingly exiting Slowdown and proceeding into Expansion. Markets are reflecting the shift, rewarding revenue growth and capex growth, while earnings expectations continue to advance. The backdrop remains supportive, but expectations are rising and risks from financial conditions linger.
The divergence across frontier markets is likely to widen. Kenya, Kazakhstan, and Sri Lanka are well placed to outperform, while Pakistan is vulnerable. We offer several trade ideas to capture this divergence.
A market becomes inefficient, illiquid, and vulnerable to a phase transition when the ‘wisdom of crowds’ switches to the ‘madness of crowds.’ This switch from market wisdom to market madness may be the most significant recurring behavioural opportunity in active fund management and can be exploited in real-time by measuring the market’s complexity.