January saw US equity markets down 6%, European stocks down 4% and their UK peers remaining broadly flat – performance that we outlined in our January review. The biggest sell-offs were in the more expensive sectors, such as growth stocks, and the more expensive regions, such as the US. And although these are areas where we have lower levels of holdings than an investor placing investments on a market capitalisation basis, what does this mean for client portfolios more broadly? Are January’s jitters just the start of more equity market falls?

Rebecca Cretney, investment counsellor, sets out how we believe markets may perform going forward.