Select Portfolio Commentaries

Following the impact of the Pandemic on global economies, we have experienced one of the sharpest recessions in history, followed by one of the strongest recoveries.

As economies gradually reopen, global growth is expected to continue on its upward trajectory. Growth will continue be supported by the enormous fiscal and monetary stimulus provided by Governments and the Central Banks.

A tremendous effort has been made through the use of monetary and fiscal policy to protect people and economies from the impact of COVID-19, which was first declared to be a global pandemic over a year ago.

Optimism for higher growth has led to a revision of global economic growth forecasts. The estimated growth during 2021 for the US and emerging markets has been revised upwards to 7.5% and 6% respectively.

On 3rd February, the world reached a psychologically significant milestone as the number of people vaccinated against Covid-19 exceeded the number of confirmed cases, according to the Financial Times vaccine tracker.

The US and China continue to remain exceptions to the slowdown in developed markets due to the imposition of further social restrictions. In fact, China’s economy has now recovered to a higher level of GDP than pre-crisis.