Two themes dominate the financial markets

"The economy is showing signs of recovery," says Brill during the monthly Digital Experts video conference with VP Bank clients. But of course there are risks: The Covid pandemic and the number of infections are on the rise again, in some countries and even significantly in Switzerland. Depending on the course of events and the reaction of national governments, this may delay the recovery.

Secondly, the US presidential elections are imminent. "The coming weeks will be dominated by the US elections," says Brill. In the marketplace, participants have come to terms with a democratic president, but until the votes are counted after the polls, uncertainty remains. The worst outcome for markets would be a close result in favour of Joe Biden with the incumbent Donald Trump contesting the outcome.

The best thing for investors in this environment is to maintain a robust portfolio composition. In the equity part, this means staying invested and not missing out on risk-reducing elements. Long-term theme investments such as sustainable urbanisation are also useful. This trend calls for new ideas for urban centres, for example in terms of energy supply or mobility. This creates opportunities for investors.

In the interest rate part of the portfolio, Brill recommends keeping interest rate sensitivity low and prefers cash over bonds. Moreover, neither gold nor insurance-linked securities should be missing in a broadly diversified portfolio.

More on the current assessment of the individual asset classes can be found in the monthly publication "Our View".