Short-term investment outlook - June Update

Factor portfolios based on quantitative characteristics such as value, momentum, quality, size and low volatility have historically generated attractive excess returns, outperforming market cap benchmarks on a risk-adjusted basis.
While single factors have outperformed over the long-term, they have also experienced strong cyclicality, occasionally leading to extended periods of underperformance driven by changing market environments.
We believe investors can exploit these distinct macro sensitivities among factors, developing dynamic rotation strategies driven by forward-looking macro regime frameworks, with the potential to outperform static multifactor portfolios while maintaining diversification to multiple factors.
June 2020 update
- Extraordinary monetary and fiscal policy announcements have helped markets find a bottom in late March, and the steady decline in new Covid-19 infections in the developed world has increased the likelihood of a gradual reopening across major economies in Europe and North America over the next month.
- As a result, markets have quickly repriced improving growth expectations, which lead our macro framework to move to a recovery regime after spending four months in contraction. Based on our leading indicators we are already seeing this recovery materialize in major economies across Asia, which led the way during the downturn and now lead the way in a recovery.
- In this paper we show how we would use these signals to implement changes across asset classes, regions and factor exposures within a global strategy.
