Europe

Who would have thought 12 months ago that Europe would have become the destination of choice for investors in 2017? What has changed?

Quantitative easing (QE) has resulted in heavily indebted developed economies and has had varying degrees of success. The question now for QE is not about how much, but how much longer?

Europe's economic recovery continues to broaden and deepen. The ongoing expansion is supported by a synchronised global growth backdrop with few medium-term concerns coming from the international trade impulse.

Alex Ralph, manager of the £1.2bn Artemis High Income Fund, explains why she remains concerned in regards to the outlook for the UK market and has turned her attention to Europe instead.

Fundamentals stronger than headlines suggest

Latter stages of the cycle

At first glance, European smaller companies look expensive. They trade on a two-year forward earnings-per-share multiple of 15.8x, against their 15-year average of 13x.

Valuations have doubled over five years

Providers launch 1,027 funds in H1 2017

The monetary policy debate is likely to continue to dominate volatility in government bonds markets, and its ripples are likely to impact broader fixed income markets.