No April Fool: A painful Q1 for UK equity investors

Markets shellshocked in the run-up to Easter

It is 1 April at time of writing and, reliably, the day each year that Q1 data on various indices, sectors and funds gets scrutinised by industry commentators and journalists alike.

Who would have thought this time last year, when risk assets were achieving solid gains, that the 2020 results would be so painful? But then, who would have expected a global pandemic, a worldwide lockdown and unprecedented fiscal measures in what has been called the sharpest economic fallout in decades? UK Gilt funds lone positive performers in 'horror show' March Experts have been calling the end of the bull market for some time now, but certainly nobody expected such an abrupt halt to proceedings. With the exception of the Japanese Nikkei 225 index - which still saw a double-...