Defensive/Risk

Post-Brexit uncertainty will continue for some time. But we were already cautiously positioned, and would not go any more defensive.

Equity and Treasury market positioning support the notion of a bounce in risk assets, possibly egged on by dollar weakness.

A Spanish bull, a euro bull, and an equity bear.

There is a risk that global bond yields move higher in the near term, although we prefer to position for that move <i>via</i> cross-market spread, yield curve and inflation trades.

Markets will remain stuck in a trading range, driven by two policy feedback loops: the Fed's and China's.

Investors have embraced renewed Fed hawkishness as a vote of economic confidence and confirmation of analysts' rosy earnings forecasts, but the bounce in financials looks unsustainable, outside of REITs. Hang on to gold shares.

While it is impossible to time the stock market, even a system whose results are slightly better than a coin-flip can still generate significant <i>alpha</i>. Overweight equities when valuations are favorable, growth is advancing, and financial conditions are easing. Stocks tend to do best when sentiment is bearish but improving, and the market has started trending higher without yet going parabolic. The outlook for U.S. stocks is rather mixed; Europe, Japan and China should outperform (currency-hedged).

For the month of May, the model underperformed both global equities and the S&P 500. For the month of June, the model is further paring back its risk exposure.

This month's <i>Special Report</i> reviews the literature on equity market timing, and identifies the key indicators that historically have had the best track record. We then aggregate the indicators into an overall scorecard that should prove to be valuable for investors in these volatile times.

The next rate hike is unlikely before September, despite the rebound in April retail sales. The dollar could suffer for a time, but the long-term bull market is intact.