Monthly newsletter- 2nd Edition

We are two months into the humanitarian disaster that Russia has inflicted upon Ukraine?and unfortunately, the way forward is no clearer now than it was in the early days.

Russia has met with far more opposition than it had likely anticipated. The global response has been swift, with sanctions coming thick and fast.?Most corporates have beaten a hasty retreat from Russia, under pressure from their investors and customers.?Global energy prices continue to be on a tear though Russian exports to Europe and China are still on.

Given the strong impact of these events across the world,?markets have whipsawed wildly. Inflation is still running hot though and central bankers across the globe remain as steadfast as ever in reining back their easy monetary policy. Safe havens like the US dollar and Gold remain in vogue for now and volatility, at least for now, appears to be here to stay. To read more click here

Our View on asset classes: Stay nimble & disciplined

We are firm believers in the “stay invested” approach. However, we are clearly in the latter innings of this cycle, where growth is likely to slow down and investors must position their portfolios accordingly. This means avoiding small caps, high yield, lower quality, and leveraged investments and rather focusing on high quality, mega-cap and simple exposures that are less rewarding but also less risky.

Within equities, we like the US market (via ETFs) but want to be?selective in EM (via active funds). We think Europe struggles from here as they try to become less dependent on Russian energy. Within value cyclical, we like?energy?due to the upside in commodities as well as?financials?on a tactical basis (next 2-3m), simply because it adds rising rates exposure which might be helpful from a portfolio perspective. ?The key is to remain nimble and disciplined! To read more click here

#Words of the wise

" As expected, the @WorldBank revised its 2022 global growth forecast to 3.2%, down from January's 4.1% projection. I strongly suspect that this forecast will be revised down again in the months ahead. "

Mohamed A. El-Erian,

Chief economic adviser at?Allianz

#Learner's corner: Defining Decentralized Finance (DeFi):

An Explainer on four challenges and roadblocks to the adoption of decentralized finance viz. 1) Scalability of DeF, 2) Probability of fraud 3) Collateralization 4) Security. To learn click here

#Watch: Kristal on Bloomberg

Kristal Founder & CEO Asheesh Chanda says he is long U.S. energy equities and commodities. He was speaking with Juliette Saly and Rishaad Salamat on "Bloomberg Markets: Asia". To watch click here

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