Market expectations have consolidated around an imminent rate cut at the upcoming Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting on the 10th of December. The policy debate has shifted from the likelihood of easing, to the implications for the broader policy stance, inflation management, and the United States Federal Reserve’s (the Fed) leadership configuration heading into 2026.
With this backdrop in mind, I am pleased to share Perpetua’s latest Fixed Income Quarterly Commentary with you. In this quarter’s edition we reflect on key market developments in recent months and provide an updated assessment of our macroeconomic and geopolitical outlook. We see these factors as well as other fundamental drivers continuing to weigh on domestic and global fixed income markets over coming months. Ultimately this connects closely to our fixed income positioning.
Politics continue to dominate 2024 as elections kick off across the globe. In India, Modi’s party was forced into coalition politics, while Mexico saw its first female president elected, signifying a continuation of current populist policies. France and UK are on track for turbulent elections as centrists lose control in the former and the latter sees a shift from Conservative to Labour control.
As we closed the last month of what can only be described as a tumultuous quarter and brace ourselves for the rest of the year ahead, the key themes running through my mind are not the endless recession dilemma, or sticky levels of inflation, or the increasingly opaque interest rate cycle. Instead, my concerns for the quarter ahead are more personal: whether peace will finally come to the Middle East, how peaceful our national election in South Africa will be and whether the cost-of-living crises around the world will ameliorate in any meaningful way sooner rather than later.
Perpetua Investment Managers has expanded its investment product offering to include standalone fixed income funds effective March 2024, with the launch of the Perpetua SCI Flexible Fixed Interest Fund.
Jason Clark
Jason joined Perpetua as an Investment Performance & Risk Analyst. He is responsible for evaluating, measuring, and reporting on the performance and risk of the investment portfolios.
He brings experience from Luxcara, a German clean-energy asset manager, and Allan Gray, where he served in various roles over a five-year period. Jason holds Bachelor’s and Honours degrees in Economics from Stellenbosch University and is currently pursuing an MSc at the University of Bath. He also holds the CIPM® designation through the CFA Institute, specialising in investment performance measurement.