Acumen Portfolio Performance YTD 2020

Commentary on Portfolio Performance – July 2020

Acumen & Trust’s portfolios maintained their gradual rise throughout July, before falling slightly towards the end of the month as investors lost their risk appetite. Positive news on a potential vaccine for Covid-19 drove markets higher, with the S&P500 turning positive for the year. Towards the end of the month, markets started to decline as geopolitical tensions rose once again between the US and China, while some European countries re-imposed lockdowns due to a rise in Covid-19 hotspots.

The big news in bond markets was the approval of an €750bn recovery fund by EU leaders. The fund aims to provide support in the form of loans and grants to countries that have been hit hardest by the coronavirus. Yields on some European bonds, principally Italy and Spain, fell as investors see this recovery fund as a significant step in EU solidarity. The prospect of continued stimulus, low real yields and the return of geopolitical risks, drove the price of gold to an all-time high, beating the record previously set in 2011.

Volatility remains low in comparison to previous months and as you can see from the above graph, our portfolios have recovered the bulk of the losses incurred during Quarter 1.