Equities, our investment approach.

•    Despite the current political uncertainty, French government debt is still easily finding buyers, with the France’s treasury department successfully raising € 11bn. 
•    Fiscal risk weighed on the UK’s long bonds, with 30-year gilt yields reaching highs not seen since 1998.
•    US Treasury yields were under pressure this week, as the 30-year bond revisited 5% before poor economic data caused it to fall back.

At the Rimini Meeting, Mario Draghi made a harsh assessment: Europe believed that its economic power was enough to secure its geopolitical role. Recent events (war in Ukraine, tensions with the United States, rivalry with China) have dispelled this illusion. The European Union, a spectator to major upheavals, must transform itself if it wants to defend its fundamental values: democracy, freedom, sovereignty, and prosperity.

On either side of the Atlantic, these past few weeks have been bustling with news. Although we chose not to adjust our allocations in response to these headlines, we did strengthen several of our convictions and have identified new factors calling for vigilance.

Since he was re-elected, Donald Trump has blown hot and cold on capital markets with his multiple announcements. Volatility and poor visibility did not spare high potential investment thematics, including artificial intelligence. An opportunity for Jacques-Aurélien Marcireau, Manager of Edmond de Rothschild Fund Big Data, to highlight the importance of caution and discipline when investing in technology stocks.