Defensive positioning boosts multi-asset managers amid volatile December markets

Defensive positioning proved fruitful towards the end of Q4 as markets became increasingly volatile, with the VIX index leaping from 16.04 on 3 December to 35.50 just three weeks later. Indeed, the FTSE All-Share, TOPIX and MSCI World were down by 3.8%, 7.1% and 7.4% respectively over December, heightened by a significant hit to global markets on Christmas Eve, and the S&P 500 dropped 9.2% last month - the worst December for the US market since the Great Depression. Commentators attributed the turbulence to investors' growing concerns over a slowdown in the US - and by association ...