Allocation

Key strategies include growing use of private investments, illiquid assets, increased exposure to alternatives and greater reliance on risk budgeting and diversification...

Strong US economic data and a more hawkish Fed saw the US Treasury index yield climb 20 bps, pushing performance down last week and putting pressure on fixed income exposures. Corporate bonds performed better — as expected — but the best position was in high yield with a short duration bias.

The Lyxor Event-Driven index is now up for the fifth consecutive week in a row, and has outperformed other hedge fund strategies on a year to date basis. This is in line with our expectations to the extent that we have had the strategy at overweight over recent quarters.

According to Bank of America Merrill Lynch, lower front-end rates have been pivotal to support flows into credit to the detriment of flows into equities. Investors continue to favour short-duration IG paper, while outflows continue from high duration pockets.

According to David Donora, Head of Commodities, Columbia Threadneedle, after commodity prices bottomed in early 2016, demand is outstripping supply once again, suggesting the next bull market may be approaching...