Acumen Portfolio Performance YTD 2020

Commentary on Portfolio Performance – November 2020

Acumen & Trust’s portfolios bounded back into positive territory for the year to date in November. Investor sentiment improved as US political risk receded and there were very positive developments on the Covid-19 vaccine front. Brexit fears seem to have been largely overlooked by investors keen to get back into markets. Volatility across asset classes fell back considerably from the end of October although it remains slightly above the long-term average, hence the importance of Acumen’s effective diversification within its range of portfolios.

The larger tech stocks traded lower in early November however much of that money appears to be rotated into cyclical recovery stocks such as banks and travel stocks. European and UK markets which had been more severely affected by the economic impact of lockdowns rebounded strongly and closed the 2020 performance gap on their US counterparts. There is a broad expectation that interest rates in the US will remain low for longer and this was a factor in the weakening US dollar which fell back 3% against the Euro. Gold continued its retreat below levels not seen for five months as investors sought opportunities elsewhere.