Here’s our update on what's been happening in the markets, as well as recent tactical changes we've made, and how our range of Ready-made Investment Funds are performing.
Remember the value of investments can fall as well as rise. You may not get back what you invest. We're not recommending Ready-made Investments as being suitable for you based on your personal circumstances, nor do we offer personal financial advice.
If you're unsure about this investment’s suitability for you, or you’re not confident about making your own investment decisions you should seek independent advice.
The first three months of 2024 saw stock markets continue their upward trend as stronger economic growth supported the outlook for company profits and buoyed investor sentiment. The improvement in business conditions was especially visible in the UK where manufacturing and services industries appeared to be on the up.
Over in Asia, Japanese stocks outperformed their developed market peers in Japanese yen terms. Corporate governance reforms further boosted confidence in capital efficiency (i.e. how efficiently a company spends its money to operate and grow) and shareholder value creation (i.e. the value based on a company’s ability to sustain and grow profits over time).
The Bank of Japan also raised its policy rate for the first time in 17 years and loosened its control of yields (i.e. the return an investor can expect) on government debt as wages and inflation were finally taking off after years of falling prices. The fear that higher interest rates would result in a stronger currency, and therefore derail the market’s momentum, proved short-lived.
However, market sentiment turned negative for global government bond markets, after it became apparent that US interest rates might not fall as quickly, or as frequently, as some people were expecting. The latest US inflation data threw a spanner in the works by showing that price pressures remain stubbornly high.
German government bonds, however, outperformed as signs of slowing inflation (in the eurozone) and weaker-than-expected growth, allowed markets to increase their odds of imminent rate cuts. The European Central Bank (ECB) reinforced this market pricing by signalling that it was comfortable lowering interest rates at some point this year.
Our Strategic Asset Allocation (SAA) is our optimum mix of shares, bonds, and cash designed to give you the best portfolio outcome for the long term. While our Tactical Asset Allocation (TAA) is the process where we actively deviate from our SAA, in order to take advantage of short-term investment opportunities.
In the first three months of 2024, we increased our exposure to global shares and reduced our cash and short-dated government bond holdings. We felt that economic growth was far more resilient than expected, and the potential for falling interest rates was setting the stage for further strength in stock market valuations. We also reduced our funds’ exposure to developed market (ex-Japan) government bonds.
The improvement in global growth activity reduced the risk-reward trade-off in government bonds. Lowering our exposure accounts for this more balanced outlook.
You can relax in the knowledge that we will continue to monitor and manage your Ready-made Investments and we’ll update you regularly on their performance and any changes we’ve made.
Of course, if you’d like to see the latest performance of your investments simply log-in to your Smart Investor account any time.
This Ready-made Investment takes a low-risk approach, aiming for modest growth in the value of your investment in the medium to long term, while seeking to protect your capital. Its approach is to invest in a blend of passive funds giving you access to different asset classes from around the world. It invests mostly in cash and bonds, with some exposure to shares, mostly in developed markets.
|
Year from 31 March |
2023-24 |
2022-23 |
2021-22 |
2020-21 |
2019-20 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Fund (net) |
5.46 |
-4.59 |
-0.08 |
7.31 |
-0.33 |
|
1 Month |
3 Months |
6 Months |
1 Year |
3 Years p.a. |
5 Years p.a. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1.00 |
1.00 |
5.46 |
5.46 |
0.18 |
1.46 |
Source: Morningstar as at 31 March 2024
The table shows the performance of the accumulation units of the fund, on a total returns basis. Past performance of investments is not a reliable indicator of their future performance.
This Ready-made Investment choice means you’ll be taking more risk than Barclays Wealth Growth Markets 1. It aims to achieve better returns than cash over the longer term, but also seeks to reduce the risk of significant capital loss. It still has a high exposure to lower-risk assets, investing largely in bonds but also gives some exposure to shares, primarily developed market shares.
|
Year from 31 March |
2023-24 |
2022-23 |
2021-22 |
2020-21 |
2019-20 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Fund (net) |
8.12 |
-4.15 |
1.36 |
15.45 |
-2.62 |
|
1 Month |
3 Months |
6 Months |
1 Year |
3 Years p.a. |
5 Years p.a. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1.56 |
2.33 |
8.12 |
8.12 |
1.65 |
3.38 |
Source: Morningstar as at 31 March 2024
The table shows the performance of the accumulation units of the fund, on a total returns basis. Past performance of investments is not a reliable indicator of their future performance.
With this Ready-made Investment choice, you’re taking a moderate level of risk to seek long-term growth. There’s more exposure to riskier investments than in our lower risk profile Ready-made Investments, but it’s still well diversified to try to mitigate some of that risk. At this level, short-term changes in value are more likely and while you’ll be invested in both bonds and shares, it’ll lean more towards the latter.
|
Year from 31 March |
2023-24 |
2022-23 |
2021-22 |
2020-21 |
2019-20 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Fund (net) |
11.71 |
-2.90 |
4.07 |
22.66 |
-4.45 |
|
1 Month |
3 Months |
6 Months |
1 Year |
3 Years p.a. |
5 Years p.a. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
2.22 |
3.96 |
10.31 |
11.71 |
4.12 |
5.76 |
Source: Morningstar as at 31 March 2024
The table shows the performance of the accumulation units of the fund, on a total returns basis. Past performance of investments is not a reliable indicator of their future performance.
This Ready-made Investment takes a moderate-high approach to risk, aiming to generate higher growth than our lower risk options. To offer the potential for bigger rewards, it introduces more risk, which also means more chance of experiencing losses. It invests largely in shares, making up more than half of your investment and while it still gives some exposure to lower-risk investments like bonds, they’ll be a smaller section of your overall investment.
|
Year from 31 March |
2023-24 |
2022-23 |
2021-22 |
2020-21 |
2019-20 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Fund (net) |
14.15 |
-1.78 |
6.67 |
29.24 |
-6.51 |
|
1 Month |
3 Months |
6 Months |
1 Year |
3 Years p.a. |
5 Years p.a. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
2.55 |
5.43 |
11.58 |
14.15 |
6.15 |
7.64 |
Source: Morningstar as at 31 March 2024
The table shows the performance of the accumulation units of the fund, on a total returns basis. Past performance of investments is not a reliable indicator of their future performance.
With this Ready-made Investment you’re taking a high level of risk, seeking to achieve substantial long-term growth. Most of the holdings will be in higher risk investments and you may experience considerable day-to-day fluctuations in value. As you’re chasing bigger rewards, there’s also a bigger chance of experiencing losses. With this option, significantly more than half of the fund will be in shares and although there’s some exposure to fixed-income investments, it’s mostly in emerging markets bonds.
|
Year from 31 March |
2023-24 |
2022-23 |
2021-22 |
2020-21 |
2019-20 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Fund (net) |
15.86 |
-1.37 |
8.51 |
33.68 |
-7.49 |
|
1 Month |
3 Months |
6 Months |
1 Year |
3 Years p.a. |
5 Years p.a. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
2.75 |
6.57 |
12.42 |
15.86 |
7.43 |
8.92 |
Source: Morningstar as at 31 March 2024
The table shows the performance of the accumulation units of the fund, on a total returns basis. Past performance of investments is not a reliable indicator of their future performance.
|
Fund |
Cash & Short Maturity Bonds |
Developed Government Bonds |
Investment Grade Bonds |
High Yield & Emerging Market Bonds |
Developed Markets Equities |
Emerging Markets Equities |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Global Markets 1 |
66.0 |
4.0 |
10.0 |
2.0 |
13.0 |
5.0 |
|
Global Markets 2 |
33.0 |
5.0 |
22.0 |
2.0 |
27.0 |
11.0 |
|
Global Markets 3 |
2.0 |
7.0 |
33.0 |
2.0 |
40.0 |
16.0 |
|
Global Markets 4 |
2.0 |
5.0 |
18.0 |
2.0 |
51.0 |
22.0 |
|
Global Markets 5 |
2.0 |
3.0 |
4.0 |
2.0 |
61.0 |
28.0 |
Please note: The actual asset allocation may deviate from those weights shown due to intentional shifts we make to take advantage of short-term opportunities and risks, as we see them.
You can buy your Ready-made Investment using an existing account.
You can choose from two types of account. Once your account is open, you can buy your chosen Ready-made Investment.
The most popular account people choose when they start to invest.
You can pay in up to £20,000 per tax year into our award-winning ISA.
Any returns you make are tax free.
Tax rules can change in future and their effects on you will depend on your indvidual circumstances.
A flexible account if you’ve already used your ISA allowance for the current tax year or you’re already paying into an ISA with another provider.
No limits on the amount you can invest.
The return you make on your investments will be taxable but there are allowances that may mean you don’t pay tax, or it's reduced.1
Smart Investor is an investment service for UK residents aged 18 or over. The service is not available to US persons, even if they are resident in the UK.
