Absolute Returns

With risk assets back to record highs, markets are currently looking for the next catalyst that would push equities higher. But with the Fed potentially signaling a looming reduction in asset purchases at the next FOMC meeting on June 16, it seems wise to remove some risk off in portfolios from a tactical standpoint.

With bond yields facing upward pressures as the global economy heats up, finding diversification across traditional asset classes has been increasingly difficult. Equity valuations, which were propelled by low interest rates in the past decade, are vulnerable in the face of rising bond yields.

Momentum stocks experienced a correction since Pfizer announced their Covid-19 vaccine results early November. Performance has nonetheless stabilized over the course of March, as the rebound in Value stocks has been persistent and started to be shown in the Momentum risk factor.

In recent months, Market Neutral L/S strategies underperformed other hedge fund strategies, in a context where risk assets rallied following the Pfizer vaccine announcement in November 2020. While the strategy is not designed to capture the equity market beta, the alpha contribution has declined since Q4-2020.

In the space of alternatives, Global Macro strategies have embraced reflation trades in the past quarter, scaling up positions on EM FX, equities, commodities and inflation linked bonds at varying degrees.