Quarterly Report Q2 2025

So-called ‘Liberation Day’ on 2nd April saw a continuation of the predictable unpredictability characteristic of Donald Trump.  This has been exhausting to many, irritating to some and pleasing to others, who had hoped and expected this administration to follow through with his trade policies.

10 mins

Quarterly Report Q1 2025

As events unfold, it can be difficult to parse out what will make it into the history books and what will be consigned to the ash heap. Only with the benefit of time do things become clear and sometimes, even with the benefit of centuries, it can be ‘too early to say’.

10 mins

Quarterly Report Q4 2024

The late, great Paul Volcker, the towering former Federal Reserve chair, said in 2009 that “the ATM has been the only useful innovation in banking for the past 20 years”.  As the Investment Manager of Personal Assets Trust ‘PAT’, we agree with the sentiment that most complex investment bank products are not good for customers.

9 mins

Quarterly Report Q3 2024

As a politics graduate, I have a disproportionate interest in the subject.  I also recognise the distraction that political outcomes pose to investors, often adding mere noise, to be ignored, if we are to succeed. 

8 mins

Quarterly Report Q2 2024

There is nothing wrong with admitting that you don’t know something.  What makes investing so fascinating and sometimes frustrating is not knowing all the answers.

9 mins

Quarterly Report Q1 2024

After a very different sort of year in 2022, much of the market was caught off guard in 2023 by a showstopping performance from the share prices of a handful of technology companies.

9 mins

Quarterly Report Q4 2023

In September, the yield on the 10-year US Treasury bond reached 4.8%, its highest level since 2007. This coincided with, or rather precipitated, weakness across asset classes.

12 mins

Quarterly Report Q3 2023

We are slowly emerging from a prolonged period of distortion born of zero interest rates. The process of unwinding the excess will take time and require patience on the part of investors.

11 mins

Quarterly Report Q2 2023

The past few weeks are confirmation, if any was needed, that there are consequences of rapidly raising interest rates from a base of zero. But even as the evidence appears stacked to the downside, the jury remains out when it comes to many asset prices.

11 mins