Overall Market Backdrop, October
– The majority of global equities struggled and produced negative returns while Emerging Markets and Asia Pacific saw modest positive returns, this continued the theme from the previous month.
– The 10-year US treasury yield ended the month on 0.87%, showing a significant increase of 0.2%.
– Volatility and uncertainty increased on the back of record daily increases in infections and a US presidential election looming.
– Small-Cap was the strongest performing factor with a return of -0.03%.
– Covid-19 cases have continued to spread at exponential rates in certain European countries, forcing countries to re-enter national lockdowns and restrictions.