Be realistic, stick with stocks and be like water

FILE PHOTO: Containers are seen unloadedat the Yangshan Deep Water Port, part of the Shanghai Free Trade Zone, in Shanghai, China, September 24,2016. REUTERS/Aly Song/File Photo

Welcome 2020! For me, the past year is best remembered as one of reckoning for central banks – the relentless wave of cheap money provided set the bond markets racing higher, spreading negative yields in Europe and Japan, and prompting rate-setters, financiers and investors to pause (and even hesitate) on what to do next.

Still, the US Fed’s U-turn to resume cutting rates put investors in a spin. Indeed, the strong performance of financial markets in 2019 does seem counter-intuitive. After all, investors had been bearish for most of the year.