Martin Gilbert: Investors should hunker down and prepare for a long, cold winter

Avoiding freezing of US-China ties

As the days get shorter and the weather gets colder, it is apparent that winter is coming, writes Martin Gilbert, co-chief executive of Aberdeen Standard Investments.

The same can also be said for financial markets. October was a chilling month for markets. The S&P 500, Euro Stoxx and FTSE 100 all finished down between 5%-6%, while the Chinese and Japanese stockmarkets lost around 7%. This is not merely a brief cold snap, but probably the start of a prolonged adjustment in market levels and valuations. Asset prices have been supported for almost a decade by supportive monetary policy including very low interest rates and quantitative easing (QE).  These supports are now being gradually removed with some concern, not least from US President Trump...