Investors have been “spoilt” in terms of the returns they’ve seen from most assets over the last six to 12 months, and there may be higher levels of complacency in the markets than normal, according to Brad Bugg, head of fixed income and currency, Ibbotson Associates.
Issues on a domestic and international front could cause market volatility moving forward, Mr Bugg said, including international developments such as the ongoing high levels of debt in the European economy.
Mr Bugg said it’s “prudent” to consider moving money out of growth assets and putting it into cash, adding cash is one of the few assets which will protect capital with any certainty going forward.
“We also think that cash gives you some [options] as well – it helps preserve your capital, but also when markets do fall, as we expect over the medium term, it allows investors to deploy that cash back into the markets,” Mr Bugg said.
“I think the key message is that practitioners need to not expect a continuation of the returns that we’ve seen … practitioners need to think about these risks and challenges in advance, so when the markets do pull back, we’re not caught out.”
