April proved to be a difficult month for markets following what was a challenging first quarter, as concerns over global growth surfaced. Markets started to question the ability of central banks to engineer a “soft landing” for economies given stubbornly high and increasing inflation. Especially against an increasingly complicated global backdrop of Chinese lockdowns, to deal with COVID-19 outbreaks, and the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine. While underlying economic fundamentals remained broadly healthy in April (especially with regards to employment). The impact of high inflation and rising interest rates are without doubt headwinds for confidence, consumer spending, and therefore growth going forward. Central banks face a testing time ahead!
Global equity markets (-6.5%) were down sharply on the month, with the more tech-heavy US market (-9.1%) falling the most, given concerns over high valuations with technology-related stocks and the impact on these of rising interest (discount) rates. The UK stock market (+1.0%) managed to buck the downward trend in April, as it has done so far this year, benefiting from its relatively high weight to materials/energy stocks. In terms of style, growth stocks (-11.2%) underperformed the more value/cyclically (-5.0%) oriented equities. This was also reflected in sector performance with higher valued communication services (-12.4%), information technology (-11.7%), and the more cyclically-exposed consumer discretionary (-11.0%) sectors falling the most. The defensive consumer staples (+0.6%) sector was the place to be during the month along with energy (-1.2%) and utilities (-3.0%) on a relative basis.
Within fixed income markets, despite increasing concerns over growth and falling equity markets, the expectation of increasing rate hikes from central banks due to high and persistent inflation meant there was, again, no place “to hide” in fixed income. Looking at the detail, global government bonds (-2.6%) and global investment grade credit (-4.0%) generated a negative return over the month, while at the riskier end of the spectrum global high yield (-3.2%) and emerging market hard currency debt (-5.5%) also declined as spreads widened.
In terms of real assets, property markets marginally outperformed equities over the month with the global REITs index down -5.4% over the period. Commodities (+4.1%) rose for yet another month (+30.7% year to date), led mainly by agriculture (+5.7%) and crude oil (+3.9%) as a result of continued supply concerns due to the war between Russia and Ukraine. Industrial metals (-6.3%) fell on the back of global demand concerns, while gold (-2.1%) was weak, despite the decline in risk appetite, due to a combination of higher interest rate expectations (greater opportunity cost) and a stronger US dollar.
| INDEX | END MARCH VALUE | END APRIL VALUE |
| FTSE 100 | 7515.68 | 7544.55 |
| DJ Ind. Average | 34678.35 | 32977.21 |
| S&P Composite | 4530.41 | 4131.93 |
| Nasdaq 100 | 14838.49 | 12854.8 |
| Nikkei | 27821.43 | 26847.9 |
| £/$ | 1.3138 | 1.2574 |
| €/£ | 0.84239 | 0.83878 |
| €/$ | 1.1067 | 1.0545 |
| £ Base Rate | 0.75 | 0.75 |
| Brent Crude | 104.71 | 107.14 |
| Gold | 1937.44 | 1896.93 |
This month’s values quoted as at 31/04/2022. The above values are sourced from Bloomberg and are quoted in the relevant currency.
We regularly publish articles, as well as host webinars, to explain what’s happening in financial markets or how you can manage your wealth. Just submit your email address to receive the updates in your inbox.
Clients of Nedbank Private Wealth can get in touch with their private bankers directly to understand how their portfolios are responding to market events or call +44 (0)1624 645000 and speak to our client services team.
If you would like to find out more about how we help manage clients’ investments, please also contact us on the number above. Or you can get in touch using the links to the forms towards the end of this page.
Investments can go down, as well as up, to the extent that you might get back less than the total you originally invested. Exchange rates also impact the value of your investments. Past performance is no guide to future returns. Any individual investment or security mentioned here may not be suitable, and is included for information only and is not a recommendation. You should always seek professional advice before making any investment decisions.
Tom was appointed in March 2021 and brings to the table over 20 years’ investment experience. Prior to joining, he was at Santander Asset Management in London for nine years, where he was, most recently, the chief investment officer for its UK business, having previously been the global head of the multi asset division. Tom also spent several years as head of multi manager and fund selection at LV Asset Management.
Tom sits within Nedgroup Investments, a sister company, which provides investment advice, research and portfolio modelling solutions to Nedbank Private Wealth. Here, he heads up the London-based investment team. It is in this capacity that he is a member of Nedbank Private Wealth’s investment committee.
Tom was appointed in March 2021 and brings to the table over 20 years’ investment experience. Prior to joining, he was at Santander Asset Management in London for nine years, where he was, most recently, the chief investment officer for its UK business, having previously been the global head of the multi asset division. Tom also spent several years as head of multi manager and fund selection at LV Asset Management.
Tom sits within Nedgroup Investments, a sister company, which provides investment advice, research and portfolio modelling solutions to Nedbank Private Wealth. Here, he heads up the London-based investment team. It is in this capacity that he is a member of Nedbank Private Wealth’s investment committee.
+44 (0)20 7002 3498
If you are interested in becoming a client, please complete the form via the ‘become a client’ button below. Alternatively, if you are already a client, or if you have a question about how we help clients in particular circumstances, please use the ‘contact us’ button.
We will get back to you as soon as we can during office hours, which are Monday to Friday, 8am to 8pm (UK time), except for UK public holidays.
Copyright Nedbank Limited 2023.
Thank you for your interest in Nedbank Private Wealth. Please call us on +44 (0)1624 645000 or complete the requested information and one of our team will get back to you soon. We look forward to speaking with you. Please note: If you are an EU resident, we are unfortunately unable to offer our services to you at present.
* Required fields
This is the Nedbank Private Wealth International website. You can access Nedbank Private Wealth South Africa by clicking on the link or using the toggle in the header.
This website is accessible worldwide. We cannot guarantee that the website or the information contained within it complies with, or is appropriate for use in, all jurisdictions. The purpose of this website is to provide information about Nedbank Private Wealth, our products and services, and how we aim to help our clients. Not all products and services referred to in this website are available in all jurisdictions. The information contained in the website is not intended to, and does not constitute, any offer by us to sell, nor it is intended to be an invitation or solicitation to buy, any product or service, and must not be relied on in connection with any investment or other decision. More information is available in the legal notices section of this website. This message will only be displayed once.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience on our website. We recently updated our privacy policy and our cookies policy to ensure you understand how we protect your personal information. Please note that in order to stop cookies being downloaded, you will need to change your browser settings, which we explain in our cookies policy.
