Asset Class Performance Review Jan-May 2026

The attached chart shows the performance of our benchmark funds in the main asset classes up until the end of May 2026.

Equities

The MSCI World Equity Index (TR) in Euro was up c. 11% to the end of May 2026. The year so far can be broken into 3 segments.

The first two months of the year were strong for equities. The year got off to a positive start as strong company earnings news, accompanied by a healthy economic backdrop and supportive central bank policy helped risk assets move higher.

This positivity initially came to a grinding halt on the back of the US Iran war breaking out. The rapid rise in oil prices which occurred because of the war helped to stoke inflationary fears while simultaneously weighing on economic growth prospects. This resulted in a turbulent end to Q1 for equities.

However, this negativity did not last long, as much better-than-expected Quarter 1 earnings announcements helped reverse the markets course again with the S&P 500 going on a historic 9-week winning streak – it climbed by over 19% (in US dollar terms) from its March lows.

The big winners in equity markets so far this year have been companies that are positioned to grow their profits strongly on the back of Artificial Intelligence productivity gains.

Another trend in the year so far is that emerging market and smaller companies equities have outperformed their global counterparts.

Bonds

Unlike equities it has been a more challenging period for bond markets, as government and corporate bonds typically posted only marginal gains. The war in Iran and the associated inflationary impacts have proved a headwind as Central Banks may be forced to pivot away from relatively accommodative monetary policy towards a more restrictive stance.

The exception has been in inflation linked bonds, which have posted healthy gains year to date on the back of the re-emergence of inflation (having inflation been largely quelled prior to the outbreak of the war in the middle east).

Property

Commercial Property funds have thus far proved to be resilient to the uncertainty in the world. This is in part due to the fact these assets are less frequently valued than their equity and bond counterparts. However, fears that the war in the middle east could persist made it a more challenging environment in the last few months as interest rate expectations have moved higher.

Notwithstanding this, our preferred property fund providers have held their own YTD as solid income yields are helping to offset challenges that are impacting capital values.

Cash

The yields on our main Cash funds at the end of May are c. 2% and are in line with the ECB deposit rate.

Investment markets are now pricing in that the ECB will increase interest rates from this point. This will lead to improved yields on our preferred Cash funds.

Multi-Asset Funds

Balanced multi-asset fund performance took its cue from what was happening more broadly in the asset markets. Overall, they are ahead of expectations YTD as equities have driven their returns higher. Having been helpful in the early phase of the war, diversification assets have contributed less in the last 2 months. However bearing in mind the uncertain world we live in, it is likely that diversification assets will prove important again in the future. A typical balanced multi-asset fund is up c. 7% to the end of May.