As COVID-19 morphed from a China provincial concern to a global pandemic, financial markets reeled with volatility. What commenced as a public health crisis quickly devolved to an economic one, and a long-term national security risk surfaced once pandemic ramifications became more widely appreciated.
The initial reaction was fear, captured in risk-off sentiment, and an equity market free-fall noteworthy by one of the shortest durations from bull to bear market in history. Hope took the next lap, with markets responding ebulliently to the intensity of vaccine research and the wellspring of monetary/fiscal support and global central bank altruism. Choppy seas one day, serenity the next, the markets have been understandably unpredictable in reaction to the “Once in a Lifetime” nature of the pandemic (see HS Management Partners’ CIO Harry Segalas thought piece of the same name dated March 30, 2020.)
We have internalized the waves of market disruption in phases, each unique, each requiring its own set of tools to navigate, each humbling in its wake. Like innings in a baseball game, we’ll take you from the opening pitch to the current at bat, not at all sure what inning we’re in; the one thing we can assure you is the first few stanzas have been action-packed.
To read more, download the full thought piece here.