Equities

In global markets, speculative forces have intertwined with the sound fundamentals of specific equity segments, perplexing investors. This report aims to distinguish between excessive price run-ups and healthy fundamentals. 

The belief that net portfolio outflows out of the US will fuel EM assets is a common but misguided narrative. If the US starts experiencing net capital outflows, it would need to run a current account surplus. A shift in the US current account from deficit to surplus would be devastating for the global economy in general and EM in particular.

In this Q4 Strategy Outlook, we discuss where we stand on our recession call, the outlook for stocks and bonds in various scenarios, why investors are misunderstanding the impact of AI on corporate profits, whether the US dollar has entered a structural downtrend, our perspective on the yen, gold and other commodities, and much more.

The economy remains resilient despite a softening labor market. As the economy shifts from labor toward capital, we may be in the early stages of a “jobless boom.” Our bull case for equities rests on strong earnings growth, accelerating GenAI adoption, monetary easing, and stimulus from OBBBA. Key risks we continue to monitor are rising bond yields and the threat of stagflation.

In this update, we apply our Macro Surprises framework to equities for the first time. Overall, the message is broadly consistent with our current equity views: Investors should favor Eurozone equities and continue to overweight cyclical sectors relative to defensive ones. 

The US High Quality (USHQ) portfolio underperformed its benchmark through September, returning 3.01%, whilst its SPY benchmark returned 3.91%. However, our US High Quality SMID (USHQ SMID) portfolio continues to show strength, with another solid month of performance. The portfolio returned 2.69%, outperforming its MSCI US Mid Cap benchmark by 169bps.