Monthly Portfolio Pulse - And the Market Beat Goes On

Equity markets pushed higher since our last publication – even in the face of a government shutdown (to which markets will pay little mind) and renewed economic-trade saber rattling between the U.S. and China (on which markets will keep a closer eye). The shutdown has halted government-supplied economic data, but third-quarter earnings season is giving investors something to chew on – and results thus far (most prominently coming from the big banks) have been a continuation of last quarter’s positive tone. We have maintained our modest risk-on recommendation, still favoring equities over bonds and U.S. over non-U.S. equities – with continued focused allocations to Chinese equities and infrastructure stocks.