The month of August is a quiet
month in terms of financial news while geo-political risks dominate the
headlines with the antics of North Korea and natural disasters disrupting the
oil refineries in the South of United States. Kim Jung Un's ambitions of developing
a nuclear ballistic missile and the speed of the technological progress has
alarmed United States and North Korea’s neighbors. Although a war seems
unlikely to break out at this moment of time, the news has affected the
sentiments of the financial markets. However, a stable global economic
environment has offset the trembles caused by the North Korean’s threats with
major central banks around the world holding their ground on the interest rates
policies and refusing to diverge any additional information on their plans in
monetary policies.
Resource was the top performer in
the month of August with Gold appreciating as a result of the fear of a
possible conflict in the Korean peninsula. Meanwhile, oil prices have
stabilized and continues to appreciate slowly back towards the $50 mark due to
the intentions of Russia and Gulf nations willing to extend their oil output
cut in an effort to bolster the price of oil.
Portfolio Strategy
The portfolio has out performed in
August thanks to the performance from First State Global Resource Fund.
Meanwhile, USD continues to weaken as the market continues to discount the
effectiveness of the Trump administration in pushing across tax cuts and
stimulative policies, causing a drag on our US equities and US bond positions.
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