Thoughts on the market rout

Please note: The article does not constitute advice or any form of investment recommendation. All numbers quoted were sourced from Bloomberg data as at Friday 23 September. Past performance is never a guarantee of future performance. 

The rout across global markets last week dramatically revealed underlying investor unease that had been building throughout an already-bumpy year. It also hammered home the reality of 2022 for investors – having started the year with expectations of sustained economic growth, they’re instead facing recession concerns and aggressive monetary policy.

In a sign of how quickly the mood has changed, you only have to look back to this time last year. In September 2021, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) was pencilling in one 25bp hike in 2022. Fast forward to today, and if we’re to believe the US Federal Reserve’s current projections, then it is not inconceivable that the central bank will have delivered more than 17 hikes by the end of this year (assuming one hike = 25 basis points).

The scale of these rate hikes is unprecedented, and given America’s status as the world’s most influential economy, they have wide-ranging implications.

There are clearly significant differences between a world where US rates are at 0.25%, and one where they approach (or even surpass) 4%. Here are three such differences on our radar at the moment:

1. TINA out, TARA in

Given today’s macroeconomic conditions, the acronym of TINA – There is No Alternative – has in our view been replaced by TARA – There are Reasonable Alternatives.

Investors might find value in locking in rates at current levels, as fixed income markets regain their appeal. Aside from rising bond yields, it looks as though equity market valuations have no choice but to come down as (real) rates increase in an effort to cool inflation.

2. Restrictive monetary policy

A smaller version of the Fed’s interest rate pivot was expected as post-lockdown economic conditions further entrenched themselves. But the aggressive stance unfolding, in response to being sluggish earlier this year, has spooked markets.  

Three months ago, the Fed fund futures curve for 2023 was fairly flat, with rates topping at 3.5%. In other words, after a last hike in December, the central bank was pretty much done and the central bank would start cutting rates towards the middle of 2023. This was the “dovish pivot”.

Today, however, the same curve shows a peak at almost 4.7% in the middle of 2023 and a very tentative cut at the back end of that year. This is a “hawkish pivot” that very few saw coming.

At these levels, interest rates would certainly surpass the US long-term growth potential and therefore result in a significant slowdown of the domestic economy.

3. There is no put

Although this is not a direct function of the move higher in rates, it goes back to the reason why rates have jumped so much: the Fed’s determination to tackle inflation.

For as long as the Fed kept in mind its dual mandate – economic/job growth and price stability – the market believed that the central bank’s “put”, was still alive and that the FOMC would bail-out the economy (and markets) at the first sign of weakness.

However, with its “hawkish pivot”, the central bank has now decided that it operates in a single mandate framework and that price stability is its only priority (probably in recognition of the fact that you can’t fight inflation without hurting the economy). You can read about that in our recent article, 'US Federal Reserve tries to assert itself'.

This means that there is no buyer of last resort anymore – even governments can’t help, as shown by the reactions to last week’s mini-budget in the UK – and that markets need to find a new equilibrium.

What does it mean for investors?

The sharp, more aggressive, shift in monetary policy has totally changed the rules of the game and investors can’t help but feel lost. The world is too uncertain and price moves too violent for anyone to express a strong, short-term conviction. Few investors would take the risk of catching a falling knife.

That said, we can make a few observations. First, every time we (and the market) thought the Fed couldn’t get more aggressive, it proved us wrong. It means that investors are now just going with the flow, pricing in what the “dot plot” (ie: Fed policymakers’ short-term projection of interest rates) suggests. Unfortunately, the dot plot has a poor record of indicating what comes next, as shown by the dot plot’s dramatic shift upwards in the last three months.

Second, sentiment is extremely gloomy already, and prices are oversold. This does not necessarily mean that markets are due to pick up and rally, but it does, arguably, suggest that things could calm down a little.

Third, a lot has happened in the first nine months of this year and, most likely, a lot more will happen over the next nine months. Things may get worse, or they may get better, but one thing is certain - they won’t stay the same. This is why one shouldn’t extrapolate today’s environment, nor expect it to persist in the future and base investment decisions on it.

In this context, we believe that investors would do well to go back to basics and ask themselves some simple questions:

• Why am I investing, what are my goals, and what’s my time horizon?
• Am I taking too much risk compared to what I can tolerate?
• Is my portfolio positioned so that it can achieve my goals without taking more risk than I can support or tolerate?

There is little to gain and potentially a lot to lose trying to be a hero at the moment. Relying on proper asset allocation and the appropriate diversification would go a long way to making sure that today’s market action is just a short-term jolt across a more rewarding, longer-term investment journey.

It’s also important to remember that since 1980, the S&P 500 has produced total returns of more than 10,000% (or around 11.5% annualised), and this despite having experienced multiple double-digit drawdowns. This clearly won’t determine the future but it provides useful food-for-thought nonetheless.

Related articles

Investing

This communication is general in nature and provided for information/educational purposes only. It does not take into account any specific investment objectives, the financial situation or particular needs of any particular person. It not intended for distribution, publication, or use in any jurisdiction where such distribution, publication, or use would be unlawful, nor is it aimed at any person or entity to whom it would be unlawful for them to access.

This communication has been prepared by Barclays Private Bank (Barclays) and references to Barclays includes any entity within the Barclays group of companies.

This communication:

(i) is not research nor a product of the Barclays Research department. Any views expressed in these materials may differ from those of the Barclays Research department. All opinions and estimates are given as of the date of the materials and are subject to change. Barclays is not obliged to inform recipients of these materials of any change to such opinions or estimates;

(ii) is not an offer, an invitation or a recommendation to enter into any product or service and does not constitute a solicitation to buy or sell securities, investment advice or a personal recommendation;

(iii) is confidential and no part may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted without the prior written permission of Barclays; and

(iv) has not been reviewed or approved by any regulatory authority.

Any past or simulated past performance including back-testing, modelling or scenario analysis, or future projections contained in this communication is no indication as to future performance. No representation is made as to the accuracy of the assumptions made in this communication, or completeness of, any modelling, scenario analysis or back-testing. The value of any investment may also fluctuate as a result of market changes.

Where information in this communication has been obtained from third party sources, we believe those sources to be reliable but we do not guarantee the information’s accuracy and you should note that it may be incomplete or condensed.

Neither Barclays nor any of its directors, officers, employees, representatives or agents, accepts any liability whatsoever for any direct, indirect or consequential losses (in contract, tort or otherwise) arising from the use of this communication or its contents or reliance on the information contained herein, except to the extent this would be prohibited by law or regulation.