Tactical Calls Review 2021
Open Calls
As the year closed, our best-performing high conviction call was US Financials. The tailwinds pushing US Financials higher were a recovering global economy, rising longer-term interest rates and lower bad loan provisions from 2020. High-quality global growth equities and US Consumer Discretionary equities also gained from the strong economic recovery and reopening.
European equities continued to lag in the recovery, but this will reverse in 2022 as the EU begins dispensing aid from its recovery fund. Asia ex-Japan equities were held back by policy uncertainty in China.
Among our Megatrend ideas, Sustainability and the US market were our top themes. Riding on strong momentum, they performed well despite high valuations. This was followed by Global Artificial Intelligence (AI) & Innovation and Healthcare as vaccine development and digitalisation remained key drivers in 2021.
Being one of the first major economies to recover from COVID-19, China started to tighten liquidity measures and impose greater regulation on its technology sector. These measures rattled China’s equity markets in 2021, but companies that adapt quickly to the new environment as greater clarity on policy objectives emerge will benefit in 2022.
Closed Calls
We closed our high conviction call on US Consumer Staples in January 2021 and switched to US Consumer Discretionary equities as the global economic recovery began to pick up pace.
Data from January 2021 to 20 November 2021
Data from January 2021 to 20 November 2021
* Performance of Allianz Global Artificial Intelligence Fund is used as the proxy for artificial intelligence and innovation equities due to the unavailability of a suitable benchmark index.
^ Source: Bloomberg. All percentages shown are expressed in their respective local currency terms, and reflect the total returns from call start date to 30 November 2021 or call end date, whichever is earlier.
+ Source: Bloomberg. All percentages shown are expressed in their respective local currency terms, and reflect the total returns from 1 January or call start date, whichever is later, to 30 November 2021.
