Despite all the economic and political concerns, the trend for equities is upward and that for credit spreads is downward. What are the reasons for this and how long will the markets continue to climb the proverbial “wall of worry”?

Strategic Asset Allocation (SAA) plays a crucial role in an investors’ decision-making process. This report features the quarterly update of three SAA models, their portfolio characteristics and the data we have used to construct the SAA models. In addition, we update the Expected Returns based on the return assumptions of approx. 70 asset managers and present tables with volatility and correlation data for every asset class.

Markets act as if tariffs, trade uncertainty, and fiscal worries are in the rear-view mirror, while the windshield shows fiscal easing, Fed rate cuts, and AI-driven profits. We disagree, expecting major obstacles to make the ride bumpy for investors, and position our tactical asset allocation accordingly.