Qontigo Insight Quarterly

Most markets fell in Q1, although commodity-dependent indices such as Canada did eke out small gains. Risk was up across the board and is higher than it was a year ago in most indices. US SH risk is in the 87th percentile relative to history.

Last quarter we discussed how markets seem to have decoupled. That has continued in Q4 as risk rose in the US (now among the riskiest markets but just around its long-term median) but was flat or fell in others.

In Q3, risk rose slightly in the US, somewhat more in Emerging Markets, Japan and Australia, and substantially in China and Asia ex-Japan.

Risk fell again across most indices in Q2 – US short horizon risk finally retraced its path back to where it stood before the 2020 crisis. Almost all components of risk contributed to the decline.

In Q1, most markets continued to build on the gains achieved in 2020, while risk changes were mixed across regions.

In a surprising turn of events, most equity markets finished 2020 with sizable gains—and the fourth quarter unquestionably did its part. Benchmark risk continued to slide in Q4—except for a blip in November—but still ended the year higher than where it started. Factor returns went wild in Q4 and many regions saw outsized returns for the year.

The global equity market recovery continued in the third quarter, as benchmark risk slid. But not all components of risk participated in the decline, and volatility remained much higher than it was when the year started.

Equity markets posted one of the best quarters in more than a decade, but most were not able to cross into black territory for the year.

The first quarter of 2020 came in roaring like a lion and went out like a (slaughtered) lamb. After stock indices were pushing new records in the first half of the quarter, the bloodbath in equities that followed not only ended the longest-running bull market in the US history, but also threw indices worldwide into a bear market.

2019 was a remarkable year, with benchmarks around the world climbing to new records, while volatility plunged. Both emerging and developed markets shared in the overperformance, with all components of risk falling for both markets. However, style factors saw mixed results, with few reporting outsized returns for the quarter or year.

Markets around the globe wavered over the past three months, but the decade-long global bull market endured in the third quarter. Despite the market’s gyrations, risk was little changed, with most major indices seeing only a relatively small rise in risk from the end of the second quarter to the end of the third quarter. Nonetheless, a lot has happened beneath the surface.

While equity markets were strong overall in Q2 – and risk levels did not stand out – some trends were troubling and investors should be cognizant of them.