Feature

The growth of BBB credit since the Global Financial Crisis has received a lot of attention.

At the start of 2019 there were three main reasons to be bearish.

The most significant consideration for all investors in the US is the actions of its Federal Reserve.

When it comes to finding growth in the UK, we are positive on the pharmaceuticals sector.

The Japanese stockmarket offers opportunities for investing in growth companies that are benefiting from structural changes in business or consumption patterns, or from demographic patterns such as the ageing, declining population.

UK equities had a positive start to 2019. While this can be partly viewed as a rebound after 2018's difficult final quarter, what is likely to have been most significant is an extraordinary U-turn by the US Federal Reserve.

After a torrid Q4 amid a global sell-off, we see plenty of reasons for sustained optimism for the rest of 2019.

As UK equity income investors, one sector we have found attractive is data or information service providers, which offer services to either corporates or consumers.

Brexit continues to dominate the headlines, with the overall prognosis no clearer.

Equities saw a relatively indiscriminate sell-off in Q4 of 2018, with increased volatility and widening valuation spreads.