Global Equity and International Fund Strategies Second Quarter 2014 Review

The U.S. market had much to celebrate on Independence Day given that the Dow had reached a new record high of 17,000. And yet, five years after the global recession of 2009, global growth is low and a high level of caution still exists among both investors and corporations. When we review the issues we discussed in the first quarter, we see that circumstances in the market are no longer dire, which may explain why the levels of volatility in the markets are at an all-time low. Yet, the geopolitical risks have not gone away, with the Middle East and Russia being omnipresent in crisis mode. However, the markets appear to have priced in the risks and thus, they are no longer front page news each day. The negative stance towards emerging markets has also subsided.

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