September was an interesting month for markets, which initially took fright at wobbles within the large and systemically important Chinese real estate sector. US and UK monetary policy makers then hinted that rates would rise faster than expected and, in the case of the US Federal Reserve, flagged a future announcement of a slowdown in its bond buying. The result was a marked increase in global bond yields, which also negatively impacted the more growth/quality type stocks (which make up the majority of equity indices). The equity sell-off was near universal this month, although Japan was a bright spot as political change and vaccine progress boosted prospects for its economy.

GLOBAL ASSET CLASS DETAILS