Inside, you will find a summary of market activity and our market outlook.
Q4 brought some relief from 2022’s downturn. Turning points are impossible to predict and clear only in hindsight, and thus it is still too soon to know if October’s low marked the bear market’s end. However, whether the new bull market began in Q4 or arrives this year, we think equities are most likely to end 2023 higher.
Global Market Recovery is Near or Underway: Global equities’ Q4 rebound demonstrates how a better than expected reality can quickly reverse market drawdowns. This also creates a path for material upside where growth likely proves more resilient and enduring than the current, dour forecasts expect.
Overly Depressed Investor Sentiment Supports Coming Rebound: Universally dour sentiment, driven by concerns on inflation, energy crunches, the Russia-Ukraine War and a variety of other factors has significantly lowered investor expectations, allowing room for the new bull market to grow.
US Politics Provides Clear Path Forward for Markets: Divided US government historically fuels a positive three quarter stretch for equities—the three quarters starting October 1 in a midterm year were positive 92% of the time, with average returns of 20%. Similarly, the third year of a US president’s term historically has the highest frequency of positive returns of the four-year cycle.
Investing in stock markets involves the risk of loss and there is no guarantee that all or any capital invested will be repaid. Past performance neither guarantees nor reliably indicates future performance.
Fisher Investments Australasia offers a variety of Global, Non-US, and US Equity strategies for institutional investors. FIA delegates portfolio management to its parent company, Fisher Investments, a money management firm in the US founded in 1979 by investment guru Ken Fisher. Today, Fisher Investments and its affiliates oversee more than $406 billion* in assets for over 150,000 clients globally.* Founder Ken Fisher’s “Portfolio Strategy” column for Forbes ran from 1984 through 2016, making him the longest continually running columnist in the magazine’s 90+ year history. He has also authored several New York Times bestsellers on finance and investing. (*As of 31/03/2024)
For your reference, Fisher Investments Australasia is an investment manager located in Sydney. The parent company, Fisher Investments, is based in the United States, and manages assets for large institutional clients around the world.