Insights

Trade tensions between the US and China escalated rapidly in October after Beijing restricted rare earth exports and Washington threatened an extra 100% tariffs. However, the two sides found common ground ahead of talks between Trump and Xi at the end of October. The two leaders agreed to a one-year truce, boosting risk appetite, although US stocks were already having a good month amid renewed AI frenzy and a positive earnings season. The Nasdaq gained for the seventh straight month, finishing at new all-time highs. 

The US dollar also had a good month despite the Fed cutting rates again, as officials cast doubt on further easing. The yen suffered as Bank of Japan rate hikes became less likely after a leadership change within the ruling LDP party. The pound was the second worst performer on speculation that the Bank of England will cut rates soon, and the euro didn’t fare much better. Gold advanced to new record highs before retracing following the US-China trade deal.

The IXI Fund faced a challenging month in October. While certain market conditions presented opportunities for the strategy to generate returns, mixed and often contradictory data signals made it difficult to capitalise on them. The portfolio recovered part of the drawdown during the final weeks of the month, but these gains were insufficient to offset earlier losses. Looking ahead, we remain focused on identifying high-conviction opportunities and positioning the portfolio to benefit from improving market clarity in the coming months.