A few weeks ago, not many of us would have anticipated the dramatic escalation of the conflict taking place in Ukraine as Russian military forces began an invasion in late February, sparking humanitarian and economic devastation in the country which is a former Soviet republic. The resultant geo-political conflict and tension has heightened anxiety across the globe as various countries and regulatory authorities reacted with economic and travel sanctions against Russia, in order to put pressure on it to de-escalate its military attacks. This has naturally had an adverse effect on markets which were already grappling with the on-going COVID-19 pandemic, the prospect of slowing economic growth, and several developed countries facing rising inflation and consequently increases in interest rate following multi-decade year lows.

Along with the rest of the world we hope and pray for an end to the invasion and conflict in Ukraine, and that a peaceful resolution is reached as soon as possible.

We hope that you find this edition interesting and useful, and we look forward to engaging with you with regards to any of the contents.

Read the full report here.