MeDirect becomes the second Maltese bank to participate in the New Hope guarantee scheme

Following an agreement which was signed between the Housing Authority and MeDirect, another Maltese bank will now be offering its clients the opportunity to access the New Hope guarantee scheme. This scheme, which was launched in 2021, is giving new hope to those who are unable to obtain a life insurance policy due to past or current illness or disability and therefore have not been able to purchase a home.

This scheme is providing Maltese banks with a secure alternative so that loans can be provided to potential home buyers without the banks, or the relatives of the applicant, being exposed to any risk. At present, the Housing Authority is offering guarantees which replace the need for a life insurance policy to cover home loans of up to €250,000 for the purchase of a property which the beneficiary uses as their primary residence.

Minister for Social and Affordable Accommodation Roderick Galdes stated that following the scheme’s introduction, they continued working towards further strengthening it and thus, the introduction of MeDirect Bank is a result of discussions which have been taking place during the recent months.

From his end, the Chief Executive Officer of the Housing Authority Matthew Zerafa said that this scheme, which to date 8 applicants have benefitted from it, will continue helping people fulfil their aspirations and their dreams to become owners of their own homes.

Arnaud Denis, Group Chief Executive Officer at MeDirect, said, “The Housing Authority’s New Hope scheme is a great initiative. By stepping in as guarantors for those who are unable to obtain life insurance protection despite meeting all the financial requirements to obtain a home loan, the Authority is indeed offering hope to families that have already faced difficult health situations or disabilities. MeDirect’s mission is to give customers as many choices as possible to be able to use their money as they see fit, to build the future they want. It is in this spirit that we join this scheme today. We look forward to working with the Housing Authority to give more people the choice of becoming homeowners.”

MeDirect Bank (Malta) plc, is licensed to undertake the business of banking in terms of the Banking Act (Cap. 371) and investment services under the Investment Services Act (Cap. 370). MeDirect Bank (Malta) plc is regulated by the Malta Financial Services Authority as a Credit Institution under the Banking Act 1994.


MeDirect isir it-tieni bank Malti li jipparteċipa fl-iskema ta’ garanzija New Hope

Permezz ta’ ftehim li ġie ffirmat bejn l-Awtorità tad-Djar u MeDirect, bank ieħor Malti se jibda joffri l-opportunità lill-klijenti tiegħu biex jaċċedu għall-garanzija offruta mill-iskema New Hope. Din l-iskema, li ġiet introdotta fl-2021, qed tagħti tama ġdida lil dawk il-persuni li ma kienx jirnexxielhom jiksbu polza tal-assigurazzjoni fuq il-ħajja minħabba li fil-passat kellhom xi mard, jew ibatu minn kundizzjonijiet mediċi jew inkella li għandhom xi diżabilità u għaldaqstant ma setgħux isiru sidien ta’ darhom.

Din l-iskema qed toffri alternattiva sigura lill-banek Maltin biex is-self mitlub mill-applikant ikun jista’ jingħata mingħajr ma jintefa’ l-ebda riskju fuq il-banek jew il-qraba tal-benefiċjarju. Preżentament, l-Awtorità tad-Djar qed toffri garanziji li, fin-nuqqas ta’ polza tal-assigurazzjoni fuq il-ħajja, tkopri s-self sa massimu ta’ €250,000 fuq proprjetà li tintuża bħala r-residenza primarja tal-benefiċjarju.

Il-Ministru għall-Akkomodazzjoni Soċjali u Affordabbli Roderick Galdes qal li wara li ġiet introdotta din l-iskema, il-ħidma tal-gvern baqgħet għaddejja sabiex l-iskema tkompli tissaħħaħ. L-introduzzjoni tal-MeDirect Bank hija frott il-ħidma li saret matul dawn l-aħħar xhur.

Il-Kap Eżekuttiv tal-Awtorità tad-Djar Matthew Zerafa qal li din l-iskema, li sal-lum diġà bbenefikaw minnha 8 persuni, se tkompli tgħin biex aktar persuni mhux biss jilħqu l-aspirazzjonijiet tagħhom imma wkoll tgħinhom iwettqu l-ħolma tagħhom u jsiru sidien ta’ darhom.

Arnaud Denis, Kap Eżekuttiv tal-Grupp MeDirect, qal, “L-iskema New Hope tal-Awtorità tad-Djar hija inizjattiva importanti ħafna. Permezz tal-garanziji li qed toffri lil dawk li ma jistgħux jiksbu polza tal-assigurazzjoni fuq il-ħajja minkejja li jissodisfaw ir-rekwiżiti finanzjarji kollha biex jiksbu self għad-dar, l-Awtorità tabilħaqq qed toffri tama lill-familji li diġà ffaċċjaw sitwazzjonijiet ta’ saħħa jew diżabilità diffiċli. Il-missjoni ta’ MeDirect hi li jagħti lill-klijenti l-għażliet biex ikunu jistgħu jużaw flushom kif jidhrilhom xieraq, biex jibnu l-futur li jridu. Huwa f’dan l-ispirtu li llum ningħaqdu fl-iskema. Nistennew bil-ħerqa li naħdmu mal-Awtorità tad-Djar biex aktar nies jingħataw l-għażla li jsiru sidien ta’ darhom.”

MeDirect Bank (Malta) plc, bin-numru ta’ reġistrazzjoni C34125, huwa liċenzjat biex joffri servizzi bankarji skont it-termini tal-Att dwar il-Kummerċ Bankarju (Kap. 371) u servizzi ta’ investiment skont it-termini tal-Att dwar is-Servizzi ta’ Investiment (Kap. 370). MeDirect Bank (Malta) plc huwa regolat mill-Awtorità Maltija għas-Servizzi Finanzjarji bħala Istituzzjoni ta’ Kreditu taħt l-Att Bankarju tal-1994.

BlackRock Commentary: Market view too rosy – for now

Jean Bovin – Head of BlackRock investment institute, together with Wei Li – Global Chief Investment Strategist, Alex Brazier – Deputy Head, Ben Powell – Chief Investment Strategist for APAC, and Vivek Paul – Head of Portfolio Research all forming part of the BlackRock Investment Institute, share their insights on global economy, markets and geopolitics. Their views are theirs alone and are not intended to be construed as investment advice.

Key Points

Positive developments: China’s reopening, lower energy prices and cooling inflation reinforce our long-term positive view on equities. Yet we think market optimism has come too soon.

Market backdrop: Stocks paused their rally and bond yields steadied after recession worries returned. We think we are starting to see damage from policy overtightening.

Week ahead: We’re watching global flash PMIs this week for signs of recession and look to the U.S. PCE report to see how services spending is affecting core inflation.

Markets have leapt ahead this year, driven by China’s reopening, falling energy prices and slowing inflation. This has spurred hopes of a soft economic landing, plummeting inflation and interest rate cuts. We see markets vulnerable to negative surprises – and unprepared for recession. This is why we underweight developed market (DM) stocks in the near term. Yet the developments reinforce our long-term views and the importance of an investor’s time horizon.

Horizon matters

An investor’s time horizon is key when gauging how 2023 developments so far affect investments. These events have upped our confidence in our strategic views on a horizon of five years and more. Economic risks like a closed China and ultra-high inflation have lessened, further underpinning our strategic overweight of stocks, as the chart shows. Equity valuations look reasonable versus our long-term expectations. The stock rally hints at how markets will likely react once inflation eases and rate hikes pause, buoying prospects for long-term corporate earnings. Yet before this outlook becomes reality, we see DM stocks falling when recessions we expect manifest. We think the U.S. economy’s 2023 calendar year growth will then be positive. Investors with a longer-term investment horizon can position for the rebound now but could see more pain to come in the near term.

We may turn more positive on stocks when the damage we see ahead is priced or our assessment of market risk sentiment shifts. For now, the fading risks after this year’s positive developments are key to our strategic views. Case in point: inflation. We have always expected it to fall as pandemic drivers – like consumer spending’s shift from services to goods – reversed. What’s key is our view of U.S. inflation landing closer to 3% than the Federal Reserve’s 2% target. Markets aren’t pricing that in. Plus, longer-term trends like aging demographics, geopolitical fragmentation and the energy transition mean inflationary pressures will be higher than in the past. Treasury yields are falling further away from where we think they’ll climb to in the long term as investors demand more term premium, or compensation for the risk of holding them amid persistent inflation and heavy debt loads. We don’t think nominal sovereign bonds can diversify portfolios anymore, and our preference for inflation-linked bonds is stronger given 2023 events. We see stock returns offering more compensation for risk than bonds

Near-term risks 

Yet investors with shorter investment horizons should be wary, in our view. Falling inflation has raised market hopes for rate cuts this year but that optimism may be built on shaky ground. We don’t see rate cuts even once recessions hit. The reason: Central banks are deliberately causing them to try to push inflation down to a tolerable level, we believe. We see them keeping rates higher for longer as a result. We think recessions are more likely in developed economies given the lagged effect of rate hikes. China’s reopening could support global growth. We see China’s economic growth above 6% in 2023 despite its shrinking trade activity. But this cushioning of global growth would temper DM central banks’ efforts to crush economic activity to try to get inflation down to target, in our view. DM recessions should be the key focus tactically. Yet markets don’t appear to price in that outcome. We think that makes them vulnerable to more negative surprises – and volatility – in 2023.

Our bottom line

Time horizons matter – a lot. We’re strategically overweight DM stocks because we think downside risks have lessened, boosting potential long-term returns. Yet we see near-term risks tilted against DM stocks, with earnings growth forecasts not fully reflecting the recessions ahead. So we’re underweight tactically and prefer emerging market equities. We like public equities over private growth assets and expect entry points to grow more attractive. We’re underweight long-term government bonds tactically and strategically as we expect fewer diversification benefits and a rise in yields. Our expectation for persistent inflation is why we like inflation-linked bonds on both horizons. We like high-quality credit for income in both short- and long-term allocations. Look out for a quarterly update to our strategic views soon.

Market backdrop

Global stocks paused from their rally this year and government bond yields steadied from their drop. Surprisingly weak U.S. retail sales and industrial production revived concerns about recession. Still, Federal Reserve and European Central Bank officials made the case for further rate hikes. We think investors betting on Fed rate cuts later in the year are likely to be disappointed – even as a recession is foretold and we start to see more economic damage from their policy overtightening.

We’re looking at flash PMIs for signs of recession in the U.S. and Europe. We will also be watching the U.S. PCE report for more signs of the spending shift back to services from goods and how that is affecting the Fed’s favored gauge of core inflation, as well as the overall strength of household spending.

Week Ahead

Jan. 24: Global flash PMIs

Jan. 25: Germany Ifo survey

Jan. 26: U.S. Q4 GDP

Jan. 27: U.S. PCE inflation and consumer spending


BlackRock’s Key risks & Disclaimers:

This material is not intended to be relied upon as a forecast, research or investment advice, and is not a recommendation, offer or solicitation to buy or sell any securities or to adopt any investment strategy. The opinions expressed are as of 23rd January, 2023 and may change. The information and opinions are derived from proprietary and non-proprietary sources deemed by BlackRock to be reliable, are not necessarily all-inclusive and are not guaranteed as to accuracy. As such, no warranty of accuracy or reliability is given and no responsibility arising in any other way for errors and omissions (including responsibility to any person by reason of negligence) is accepted by BlackRock, its officers, employees or agents. This material may contain ’forward looking’ information that is not purely historical in nature. Such information may include, among other things, projections and forecasts. There is no guarantee that any forecasts made will come to pass. Reliance upon information in this material is at the sole discretion of the reader.

The information provided here is neither tax nor legal advice. Investors should speak to their tax professional for specific information regarding their tax situation. Investment involves risk including possible loss of principal. International investing involves risks, including risks related to foreign currency, limited liquidity, less government regulation, and the possibility of substantial volatility due to adverse political, economic or other developments. These risks are often heightened for investments in emerging/developing markets or smaller capital markets.

Issued by BlackRock Investment Management (UK) Limited, authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Registered office: 12 Throgmorton Avenue, London, EC2N 2DL.


MeDirect Disclaimers:

This information has been accurately reproduced, as received from  BlackRock Investment Management (UK) Limited. No information has been omitted which would render the reproduced information inaccurate or misleading. This information is being distributed by MeDirect Bank (Malta) plc to its customers. The information contained in this document is for general information purposes only and is not intended to provide legal or other professional advice nor does it commit MeDirect Bank (Malta) plc to any obligation whatsoever. The information available in this document is not intended to be a suggestion, recommendation or solicitation to buy, hold or sell, any securities and is not guaranteed as to accuracy or completeness.

The financial instruments discussed in the document may not be suitable for all investors and investors must make their own informed decisions and seek their own advice regarding the appropriateness of investing in financial instruments or implementing strategies discussed herein.

If you invest in this product you may lose some or all of the money you invest. The value of your investment may go down as well as up. A commission or sales fee may be charged at the time of the initial purchase for an investment. Any income you get from this investment may go down as well as up. This product may be affected by changes in currency exchange rate movements thereby affecting your investment return therefrom. The performance figures quoted refer to the past and past performance is not a guarantee of future performance or a reliable guide to future performance. Any decision to invest in a mutual fund should always be based upon the details contained in the Prospectus and Key Information Document (KID), which may be obtained from MeDirect Bank (Malta) plc.

Notes from the Trading Desk – Franklin Templeton

Franklin Templeton’s Notes from the Trading Desk offers a weekly overview of what our professional traders and analysts are watching in the markets. As part of Templeton Global Equity Group, the European equity desk is manned by a team of professionals based in Edinburgh, Scotland, whose job it is to monitor the markets around the world. Their views are theirs alone and are not intended to be construed as investment advice.

The Digest

Last week was choppy as investors digested central-banker commentary, macro data and corporate earnings. Of note, a number of Federal Reserve (Fed) speakers stuck to their hawkish narrative and some weak US macro data raised doubts over a “soft landing” for the US economy. In Europe, there likewise was some hawkish European Central Bank (ECB) commentary, although we did see further commentary that the outlook for Europe is improving. On the week, the market moves were lacklustre, with the MSCI World Index down 0.4%, STOXX Europe 600 Index down 0.1%, the S&P 500 Index down 0.7% and the MSCI Asia Pacific Index up 0.8%.

US Fed in focus

Last week saw a mid-week wobble for US equities on the back of some weaker macro data and a few hawkish Fed comments. US retail sales (excluding autos) month-over-month fell 1.1%, which was worse than expected. December Industrial Production was down 0.7%, also worse than expected, and some investors took the view that “bad news was bad news”. The suggestion is that these weak numbers indicate a soft landing is less likely, and on Wednesday, the S&P 500 Index fell 1.6%. It was only a couple of data points, so one could argue it is too early to jump to conclusions. But what was interesting was the change in market reaction, as for a while the default response to weak macro was “bad news is good news”, which could lead to a less-hawkish Fed.

Another interesting dynamic last week was the US December Producer Price Index, which fell 0.5%, the most since April 2020, but importantly, the market reaction was fairly muted. This suggests the market is pricing in a peak inflation, so the focus has now turned to growth and outlook for a hard or soft landing for the US economy.

In terms of Fedspeak, last week saw several policymakers reiterate that there is still work to be done to tame inflation. Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) speakers included:

  • Governor Brainard (voter) who is one of the more dovish speakers, reaffirming that it will take time under restrictive monetary policy to return inflation to the 2% target;
  • NY Fed President Williams (voter) also stressed that the Fed still has work to do; and
  • Dallas Fed’s Logan (voter) argued rates could have to move to a higher level than expected.

Over the weekend, the Fed entered its blackout period ahead of the 1 February meeting. The market expects a 25 basis points (bps) hike, and the final Fed speaker last week, Christopher Waller, did nothing to change that narrative. He stated: “I currently favour a 25-basis point increase at the FOMC’s next meeting at the end of this month…Beyond that, we still have a considerable way to go toward our 2% inflation goal, and I expect to support continued tightening of monetary policy”. With the 25 bps rate hike seemingly priced in, we think the Fed statement and any commentary around the future rate path will likely be more impactful.

Europe outlook/ECB

After being the pariah for so long, European equities saw their first inflow in 49 weeks (a whopping US$200 million!). This ties in with the BofA Fund Manager Survey, which saw a small thawing of sentiment on Europe, with eurozone equities as an “overweight” for respondents since Feb 22.

In addition, inflows into US-listed European exchange-traded funds sharply ticked up, another indication that investors are warming to Europe.

Why the change in sentiment? The energy outlook for Europe has shaped up to be far more positive than feared, thanks to robust gas reserves and falling gas prices. Furthermore, the sudden reopening of China’s economy was a clear boost to Europe (for example, luxury brands). German Chancellor Olaf Scholz recently said he was “convinced” Germany would not fall into recession and Banque De France Governor Francois Villeroy de Galhau said “For Europe, we should avoid recession this year”.

While we’ve seen some improving estimates for Europe’s economy, we should keep in mind there are still hawkish voices at the ECB. Over the weekend, Klaas Knot called for 50 bps hikes in both February and March, saying the time to slow tightening is still far away. We subsequently heard ECB President Christine Lagarde state she was determined to stay the course, noting inflation is still too high.

UK in focus: All-time high for the FTSE 100!

Despite the gloomy backdrop for the UK economy, it is worth noting the FTSE 100 Index made an all-time high midweek (in British pounds), but then drifted a little into the end of last week to close down 1%, as a stronger pound and weaker energy names weighed on the market. The more domestic-focused FTSE 250 Index was one of the worst-performing European markets last week, falling 1.3% amidst some profit warnings. Weak December retail sales and consumer confidence data further highlighted the ongoing challenges. The weaker-than-expected January GfK consumer confidence reading was driven mainly by deteriorating assessment of the personal financial situation and the state of the economy over the past year. Earlier in the week, UK Inflation data was broadly in line with market expectations, with the year-over-year (y/y) Consumer Price Index up 10.5%.

Week in review

Europe

Last week was choppy for European markets, with the STOXX Europe 600 Index closing unchanged. It was a week of two halves; in the first half, we saw a continuation of the grind higher, before an abrupt pullback on Thursday. The pause for breath was due to concerns around the US economic “soft landing” looking less likely based on weak macro and some further hawkish Fed commentary. In addition, we had some hawkish commentary from the ECB, which added to the cautious tone.

Looking at the technical picture, the index did appear to hit overbought territory earlier in the week and failed at a key resistance level (4200).

Sector-wise, travel and leisure stocks fared best, while autos underperformed.

United States

US equities finished the holiday-shortened week lower overall. The S&P 500 Index closed last week down 0.7%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 2.7%, the Russell 2000 Index was down 1.0%, whilst the Nasdaq outperformed, up 0.7%, helped by the year-to-date rotation to technology. The market seemed to pause for breath last week as earnings came more into focus. US earnings have been mixed so far and earnings expectations are starting to fade, according to FactSet. The rotation into last year’s losers continued again last week, with communication services stocks particularly strong this year.

Another trend which is worrying US investors is the divergence in economic outlooks between the United States and Europe. Whilst recent eurozone data has been coming in ahead of expectations, US data has been lagging. US December Retail Sales fell more than expected, down 1.1%, whilst December Industrial Production was a notable miss, down 0.7%. The Empire Manufacturing survey, which measures manufacturing activity in New York state, plummeted in January to the lowest level since the early months of the pandemic; new orders and shipments collapsed 32.9. Large corporations are also cutting staff, as Microsoft and Google became the latest to announce layoffs. The week ahead could be an interesting one for US data with Purchasing Managers Indices (PMIs) on Tuesday, gross domestic product (GDP) data on Thursday and personal spending data on Friday.

The latest BofA Fund Managers Survey showed US equities are at their most underweighted position since October 2005. Falling gas prices, a weaker US dollar, as well as China’s reopening have spurred investors to move into stocks in Europe, China and other emerging markets. The market still looks undecided on the Fed’s terminal rate this year.

The US debt ceiling was in focus as well last week. US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told members of Congress that the United States had reached its debt ceiling, ultimately raising the risk of a US default on its bonds for the first time ever. The debt ceiling currently stands at US$31.4 trillion, and unless Congress raises it, the government will run out of money. Yellen urged Congress to act, stating that failing to do so would cause global economic damage.

Finally, elsewhere in the Americas, there have been reports that Brazil and Argentina are in preliminary discussions to form a common currency for financial and commercial transactions. The plan is expected to face plenty of political and economic hurdles, and with the recent political changes, very little practical progress has been made so far. The two countries, representing South America’s two largest economies, issued a joint statement that sharing a currency could help boost regional trade.

Asia

Asian markets were not quite as strong as in the prior week, but  pushed  ahead again last week, with all major markets in the green. The recent weakness of the US dollar seemed to be helping emerging markets, boosting the region in general.

China’s mainland market had another good week on the back of better-than-expected economic news and further signs of a thawing in US-China relations.

Despite the Lunar New Year holiday this week (markets are shut all this week, reopening on 30 January), investors were in an ebullient mood, as China’s fourth-quarter GDP and December’s major economic data was better than expected. Some of this better data was no doubt due to Beijing’s lifting of strict COVID-19 restrictions, together with a raft of pro-growth policies implemented mostly in the second half of last year. Many economists now predict that China’s economy will grow around 5% this year and this is also supported by many of the Chinese provinces, which have also set growth targets of 5% or more.

Yellen plans to travel to Beijing soon following the first face-to-face meeting with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He. China’s Ministry of Commerce said the talks are aimed at strengthening economic and financial policy coordination, and implementing the agreements made during a summit between Chinese President Xi and US President Biden last year.

Equities in Hong Kong had a good week, with the technology space leading the way  as China’s video-game regulator issued fresh licenses, seen as a positive sign for the recovering industry. Also, the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and China bourse said it would expand the stock connect eligibility list, boosting the space.

Biotech finished strong after reports that 111 drugs are added to the China National Healthcare Insurance list. Solar and wind names soared after 6 Ministries released a renewable energy development plan.

Japan’s equity market did well last week amidst the highly anticipated Bank of Japan (BoJ) announcement and the China reopening story, especially ahead of China’s Lunar New Year celebrations. Airline stocks performed particularly well.

Last week, the BoJ decided to keep its yield curve control unchanged and maintained its loose monetary policy. JGB yields fell, and the yen weakened as a result. The BoJ said that risks to inflation are skewed to the upside, leaving open the possibility that forecasts would be revised up at the time of the next release in April.

On the economic front, core CPI rose 4% y/y in December, a 41-year high, as rising costs were passed onto consumers. Producer prices also surged over the same period.

Elsewhere, Prime Minster Kishida said that the legal status of COVID could be downgraded to the same level as flu, which was obviously seen as a positive sign and could certainly boost the tourism sector. If this does go ahead in the spring, it could mean a loosening of testing and quarantine requirements and even the requirements to wear masks.

Week ahead

Holidays/markets closed          

Monday 23 January: China, China Connect, Hong Kong, Indonesia, South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan

Tuesday 24 January: China, China Connect, Hong Kong, South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan

Wednesday 25 January: China, China Connect, Egypt, HK, Taiwan

Thursday 26 January: Australia, China, China Connect, India, Taiwan

Friday 27 January: China, China Connect, Taiwan

Macro Week Ahead Highlights

Eurozone and UK PMIs will be a focus, as well as the German IFO survey on Wednesday.

In the United States, MBA Mortgage Apps, PMIs, fourth-quarter GDP and Dec PCE Inflation, are a few things to be mindful of.

Asia will be quiet, as China’s markets are closed all week for Chinese Lunar New Year.

Monday 23 January

  • United States: Leading Index (03:00pm UKT).

Tuesday 24 January

  • UK Flash Composite PMI
  • Euro-area Flash Composite PMI
  • ECB Governing Council member Klaas Knot speaks at Future of the Financial Sector conference in Frankfurt.
  • United States: S&P Global US Manufacturing PMI

Wednesday 25 January

  • Eurozone: Germany Ifo Survey
  • ECB Executive Board member Fabio Panetta speaks in the European Parliament, and ECB President Christine Lagarde makes a speech at the Deutsche Boerse annual reception
  • United States: MBA Mortgage Applications

Thursday 26 January    

  • Eurozone: Italy Consumer Confidence Index; Italy Manufacturing Confidence
  • United States: GDP Annualised quarter-over-quarter; Durable Goods Orders; Initial Jobless Claims; New Home Sales

Friday 27 January

  • Eurozone: M3 Money Supply y/y
  • United States: Personal Income; Personal Spending; University of Michigan Sentiment

 


Franklin Templeton Key risks & Disclaimers:

What Are the Risks?

All investments involve risks, including the possible loss of principal. The value of investments can go down as well as up, and investors may not get back the full amount invested.  Stock prices fluctuate, sometimes rapidly and dramatically, due to factors affecting individual companies, particular industries or sectors, or general market conditions. Bond prices generally move in the opposite direction of interest rates. Thus, as prices of bonds in an investment portfolio adjust to a rise in interest rates, the value of the portfolio may decline. Investments in foreign securities involve special risks including currency fluctuations, economic instability and political developments. Investments in developing markets involve heightened risks related to the same factors, in addition to those associated with their relatively small size and lesser liquidity.

Any companies and/or case studies referenced herein are used solely for illustrative purposes; any investment may or may not be currently held by any portfolio advised by Franklin Templeton. The information provided is not a recommendation or individual investment advice for any particular security, strategy, or investment product and is not an indication of the trading intent of any Franklin Templeton managed portfolio.

Past performance is not an indicator or guarantee of future performance. There is no assurance that any estimate, forecast or projection will be realised.

This article reflects the analysis and opinions of Franklin Templeton’s European Trading Desk as of 23rd January 2023, and may vary from the analysis and opinions of other investment teams, platforms, portfolio managers or strategies at Franklin Templeton. Because market and economic conditions are often subject to rapid change, the analysis and opinions provided may change without notice. An assessment of a particular country, market, region, security, investment or strategy is not intended as an investment recommendation, nor does it constitute investment advice. Statements of fact are from sources considered reliable, but no representation or warranty is made as to their completeness or accuracy. This article does not provide a complete analysis of every material fact regarding any country, region, market, industry or security. Nothing in this document may be relied upon as investment advice or an investment recommendation. The companies named herein are used solely for illustrative purposes; any investment may or may not be currently held by any portfolio advised by Franklin Templeton. Data from third-party sources may have been used in the preparation of this material and Franklin Templeton (“FT”) has not independently verified, validated or audited such data. FT accepts no liability whatsoever for any loss arising from use of this information and reliance upon the comments, opinions and analyses in the material is at the sole discretion of the user. Products, services and information may not be available in all jurisdictions and are offered by FT affiliates and/or their distributors as local laws and regulations permit. Please consult your own professional adviser for further information on availability of products and services in your jurisdiction.

Issued by Franklin Templeton Investment Management Limited (FTIML) Registered office: Cannon Place, 78 Cannon Street, London EC4N 6HL. FTIML is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

 

MeDirect Disclaimers:

This information has been accurately reproduced, as received from Franklin Templeton Investment Management Limited (FTIML). No information has been omitted which would render the reproduced information inaccurate or misleading. This information is being distributed by MeDirect Bank (Malta) plc to its customers. The information contained in this document is for general information purposes only and is not intended to provide legal or other professional advice nor does it commit MeDirect Bank (Malta) plc to any obligation whatsoever. The information available in this document is not intended to be a suggestion, recommendation or solicitation to buy, hold or sell, any securities and is not guaranteed as to accuracy or completeness.

The financial instruments discussed in the document may not be suitable for all investors and investors must make their own informed decisions and seek their own advice regarding the appropriateness of investing in financial instruments or implementing strategies discussed herein.

If you invest in this product you may lose some or all of the money you invest. The value of your investment may go down as well as up. A commission or sales fee may be charged at the time of the initial purchase for an investment. Any income you get from this investment may go down as well as up. This product may be affected by changes in currency exchange rate movements thereby affecting your investment return therefrom. The performance figures quoted refer to the past and past performance is not a guarantee of future performance or a reliable guide to future performance. Any decision to invest in a mutual fund should always be based upon the details contained in the Prospectus and Key Information Document (KID), which may be obtained from MeDirect Bank (Malta) plc.

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