St. James’s Place Wealth Management (SJP) is a FTSE 250 company with £30.9bn of client funds under management. Through a dedicated network of advisers, the partnership, they offer face-to-face wealth management advice, which is tailored to meet individual circumstances.
Investors in Excellence is a customer of SJP and we are delighted to share the weekly market update which we find most valuable.
Watching and waiting
Last week saw markets unsettled as politics returned to centre stage on both sides of the Atlantic. The FTSE 100 suffered its first weekly loss since August, whilst still registering a rise of around 1.6% so far in September and a total of 4.8% to date in the third quarter of 2013, with one trading day to go. The year-to-date gain is over 10%. Attention has shifted to the US once again as Republicans and Democrats debate the country’s fiscal policy. Concerns over the lack of progress in Washington’s budget negotiations unsettled equity markets worldwide. Politics were also at the fore in the eurozone after Angela Merkel’s re-election in Germany, and as Italy’s coalition government felt the strain, driving up borrowing costs in Rome.