by Michael Matthews, Investment Director - Investec Wealth & Investment UK
2020 will no doubt go down in history as the “year of Covid”. It will also be remembered as the year of one of the most fractious US presidential elections. For us in the UK, it also marked our final departure from the European Union after the referendum on our membership. At least two of them should be less influential in 2021 though Covid remains very much at the front of our minds, personally and in business.
For investors US equity indices led the way in 2020 with the S&P +18.4%, not bad having fallen 19.6% in the first quarter. This was not down to better management of Covid or the economy, but more to do with having the right stock and sector exposure (Technology) for the times. Not only were many of the companies in the IT sector short-term beneficiaries of Covid, their “long duration” earnings streams became more valuable with the fall in discount rates.
The UK suffered a negative 2020 wh...
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