September was a difficult month for investors closing off what has been a volatile quarter and continuing a year characterized by rising inflation, rising rates and falling asset prices. The Federal Reserve in the US, the Bank of England and the European Central Bank all hiked rates in September in response to stubbornly high inflation. US inflation fell less than hoped, bringing about expectations of more and faster rate rises in the US. In the UK, the effects of Chancellor Kwarteng’s mini budget were anything but mini as a multitude of unfunded tax cuts spooked markets. The announcements caused large gyrations in the pound and in UK bond markets which also extended into global markets. This forced the Bank of England’s hand into urgently intervening as a buyer in gilt markets to protect the UK pension industry, a victim of rapid falls in UK bond prices. Markets struggled to digest all this news, with bond & equity prices falling globally.

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