Ups and downs

September was marked by constant ups and downs, but once again the market could not get rid of the lethargy of the last weeks. In the absence of news from the companies, the central banks were the focus of investors. The U.S. Federal Reserve made the beginning and – as expected by the market – had not raised interest rates further. At the same time, it was clear from the statements of Fed Chairman Powell that he leaves all options open with regard to future interest rate hikes. Subsequently, the European Central Bank ECB also did not surprise in terms of rhetoric and action and increased interest rates by the expected 0.25%. Only the Swiss National Bank SNB managed to fool investors somewhat this time by refraining from an interest rate hike. Whereby this is probably more to be seen as a sign of emancipation from the ECB, after the last interest rate steps all went hand in hand with the Europeans.

We practiced patience and are sure that our focus on quality stocks with a healthy balance sheet structure will soon pay off. We are also not changing anything in our active risk management.