Heartwood CIO: Why we are 'neurotically optimistic' about markets

Interesting times for investors

Financial markets have made a pleasing start to the year, driven by expectations of stronger global growth and reflation, writes Noland Carter, CIO of Heartwood Investment Management.

Overall, this has been an environment friendly for equities and relatively benign for bonds. A softer US dollar has also reduced headwinds for emerging market assets and their resilient performance has been all the more noteworthy given the fall in the oil price. To a certain extent we are witnessing a revival in animal spirits, at least in the corporate sector. Against a reflationary backdrop, merger and acquisition activity is picking up and global manufacturing activity is rebounding. Capital expenditure expectations, which were woefully absent in the era of collapsing commodity...