General News Over the last 3 months, we have seen the strong performance of equities continue from the start of the calendar year. The first quarter of 2019 was a great period for investors, with all major indices posting significant gains. The US market, rebounding off December lows, experienced their best start to a year since 1987. Market volatility came down sharply as robust US jobs data, the possibility of a trade truce between the world´s two largest economies and the Fed´s signal of a slower path of rate rises, contributed to the bounce back in global stocks. The reason behind the December lows and the subsequent recovery in Q1 of 2019, not just in the US, but also in many global markets worldwide, was down to valuations. Based on expected earnings over the coming year, in the last quarter of 2018, stock valuations dropped down to the lowest level we have seen since 2013. As such, stocks become for want of a better word, “cheap”. There was also a tailwind from int