The unstable equilibrium of financial markets – ZAWYA

The unstable equilibrium of financial markets – ZAWYA

Maurice Gravier is Chief Investment Officer, Wealth Management at Emirates NBD, responsible for providing Emirates NBD's private banking and retail clientele with comprehensive financial advisory and valuable guidance on investment strategies.. Gravier has over 20 years of investment experience, running large pools of assets for sophisticated international investors, across asset and wealth management.. We were scared by the backdrop and by the markets' technicals, but at least, valuations were reasonable.. The economy is cratering - the annualised contraction in Q1 alone should reach double digits in both the US and Eurozone and we should receive the numbers this week.. Policy responses are of unprecedented magnitude.. The equation has become relatively simple: should the economies reopen soon, the policy response would have been big enough to preserve our ability to rebound.. The second driver is valuation, and the issue is that markets seems to have decided to look through the crisis.. Markets' behavioural factors add their layer of instability.. In alternatives, we have a very clear preference for Gold, which is simply the currency you cannot print..