While bonds, which is an interest-rate sensitive asset class, did not see capital gains, they still accrued interest income of over 5% per annum from investment-grade (IG) corporates, the CIO points out.
Since 2023, DBS’s chief investment officer (CIO), Hou Wey Fook, has advocated for investors to put their cash to work. The call panned out “extremely well” and has continued to “pay off” in the 1Q2024, says Hou at a media briefing on April 1.
“Despite the shift in market expectations from seven rate cuts at the start of this year to just three cuts today, risk assets, particularly equities, continued to rally,” he says in DBS’s CIO Insights report for 2Q2024. “Our thematic favourites of technology and artificial intelligence (AI), as well as quiet luxury, scored with hefty gains. Gold was also a strong performer for our portfolios.”
