Market participants were surprised by an unexpected rise of volatility (VIX-index). At the same time, bond yields went up in view of the good global economic outlook and the announcement by the US Federal Reserve of interest rate increases.

Reference date: 31.03.2018

In the first quarter, negative returns were recorded across the investment strategies. The two major asset classes, equities and bonds, were down and therefore all investment strategies were affected. The rise in interest rates at the beginning of the year has slowed down towards the end of the quarter, moreover interest rates tended downward after the highs of January. Thus, the quarterly loss of investment strategies with a high bond exposure was significantly smaller compared to strategies with a high equity exposure.