All insights

The past few weeks have been quite volatile. First, tensions in the Middle East continued to grab the headlines, pushing oil prices higher. Second, US job growth, services activity and inflation came in higher than expected, leading to markets expecting smaller, more gradual US Federal Reserve (Fed) rate cuts.

The adage “sell in May and go away”, referring to the historically weaker performance of stocks from May to October compared with the other half of the year, didn’t disappoint this time around, too.

While it's the excitement of exploring new places that drives us, we should be mindful of the environment we're travelling to. After all, as visitors, we bring with us a carbon footprint that can affect the local community.

Private markets were once the reserve of sophisticated and institutional investors but have experienced significant growth in recent years. Now, a far broader range of private market investments are available to clients.

A bit like the unpredictable weather we’ve had over the past few weeks, politics has been a rollercoaster. As expected, the UK election delivered a Labour win. While there might be tax and broader fiscal implications at the individual level, the outcome wasn’t unexpected, which is why it hasn’t moved markets that much.

The overall outcome of the French legislative elections came as expected: a hung parliament where no party/alliance managed to secure the absolute majority of 289 seats. But it came with a twist.