US Tax Reform: Panacea or a Risk too Far?

2 December 2017 In a swanky Washington restaurant in 1974, economist Arthur Laffer presented Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld (future VP and US Secretary of Defence) a doodle on the back of a napkin.  What appeared was a diagram of the now infamous “Laffer Curve”.  The graph depicts the relationship between tax rates and tax [...]

Do Markets Believe Central Banks?

22 October 2017 Investors appear convinced that stimulative G-7 monetary policies lie behind the markets’ record-setting performance.  To be sure, that was the case between 2009 and 2015.  During the past three years, however, I believe the impact of monetary policy has been quite neutral, the key driver of markets more recently has shifted from [...]

Investment Strategy: Next 6 Months are Key for Trump Presidency

3 September 2017 Welcome to the launch of what will be a regular strategy review.  Macro-themes have dominated market moves, especially following the Brexit referendum and the US and French elections.  With the Trump Presidency entering a potentially decisive six months, I believe this will remain true during the year ahead. I am a believer [...]