Transact - BlackRock MPS News - February 2025 |
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For Advisers only.
Capital at risk. The value of investments and the income from them can fall as well as rise and are not guaranteed. Investors may not get back the amount originally invested.
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Transact – BlackRock MPS: News |
Dear Adviser,
Welcome to the latest round up of news and events for the Transact – BlackRock MPS.
Content:
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New Transact – BlackRock MPS landing page |
We’ve given our platform landing page a refresh, making it more intuitive and easier to navigate. You can now quickly access brochures, due diligence materials, and investment commentaries with ease.
Simply head to Transact and go to: Templates > Transact – BlackRock MPS |
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Join us for our February webinar |
There is still time to register for our February webinar when BlackRock's investment team will review the current macro-economic landscape and share the current positioning of the Transact MPS portfolios. The session will also include a deep dive on the UK Gilt market with Ben Edwards, Head of Sterling Credit at BlackRock.
Why Unlocking Gilts: Understanding the market and opportunities?
In our session, Ben Edwards (CFA) will unpick the current economic landscape and how this is impacting Gilts. We will consider the impact on our MPS, the opportunities and how we are positioned.
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BlackRock Monthly Investment Update |
Your monthly update from the investment team at BlackRock.
BlackRock January Market Commentary |
- Equity markets performed well in January, despite some short-lived volatility sparked by the Trump administration’s threats of trade tariffs on select imports from China, Mexico and Japan.
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- The US market was positive, although subdued after the release of ‘DeepSeek’ – a low-cost AI model from China – caused a fall in technology stocks
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- Global monetary policy continued to diverge over the month, with the central banks in Canada and Europe cutting interest rates, while the BoE and Federal Reserve kept rates steady, and the Bank of Japan delivered a hike.
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- Government bonds were broadly positive over the month. UK Gilts shook off concerns that slowing economic growth would challenge the Government’s ability to keep to its fiscal rules.
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- Strengthening credit conditions cause high-yield spreads to compress, and emerging markets in both local and dollar-denominated currencies produced positive returns.
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- Commodities delivered positive performance in January, with gold rallying to an all-time high.
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Outlook and Current Positioning |
The MPS is positioned to capture the three important trends that we expect to drive markets during 2025. |
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Robust economic backdrop
The global economy looks to be in good shape; supported by strong growth and falling interest rates. To capitalise on this trend, we are tilting into equity markets. We also hold listed property on the expectation that upcoming rate cuts will reduce mortgage costs and improve the sector’s profitability. Finally, we maintain a preference for emerging market over high yield debt, given the relatively higher yields in emerging markets.
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Exceptionalism for the USA
We expect that the ‘America First’ political agenda, silicon valley’s leadership in Artificial Intelligence, and a strong domestic labor market, will cause US economic growth to outstrip that of other developed markets, while also stoking US inflation. This motivates us to tilt our equity market exposure towards the US while also holding a material position in the dollar. By contrast, we hold an underweight to US Government bonds, where we expect interest rates to remain on hold.
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Interest rates could fall further
We expect inflation outside of the US to remain contained during 2025, creating room for further rate cuts. In anticipation of easing prices have removed the broad Commodity exposure from the funds, instead holding Gold which tends to perform well as interest rates fall. We maintain an elevated exposure to Gilts, given attractive yields, the softening growth and inflation picture in the UK, and restrained government spending.
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The Transact – BlackRock MPS delivered positive returns in January, as equities, fixed income, and alternatives all rallied. European equity markets and gold producers were notable contributors in a month where gold reached record highs. Higher risk profiles outperformed the lower risk profiles through the month due to their higher exposure to the strongly performing equity positions.
On a relative basis, the portfolios’ tilt towards equities was beneficial, however our intra-equity preference for the US detracted marginally. Within our fixed income holdings, the preference for Gilts added value, as did our preference for emerging market over high yield debt. |
Transact – BlackRock MPS: Performance Summary |
Source: BlackRock, 31 January 2025. Performance numbers are in GBP, official net with inception date of the model portfolio range on the 6 October 2022. Performance data covers the period from the 6 September 2022 until the 31 January 2025. The figures shown relate to past performance. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of current or future results. *Since inception performance is annualised. |
Asset Class Returns for the Transact – BlackRock MPS |
Source: BlackRock, Aladdin as at 31/1/2025. Charts show the total return of the ETFs/Index Mutual Funds within the Transact models grouped into their respective asset classes. Returns are estimated and gross of fees. The figures shown relate to past performance. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of current or future results and should not be the sole factor of consideration when selecting a product or a strategy. |
Your feedback helps us to continually improve the service. We’d particularly like to hear from you if there are any third-party due diligence or research tools that you’d like us to consider linking to. For this or any feedback please drop an email to TransactMPS@integrafin.co.uk or get in touch via the contact details below. |
If you’d like to discuss any aspect of the Transact – BlackRock MPS please speak to your usual contact or you can speak directly to the Transact MPS Manager, Ben Roberts on
Mobile: 07717 846574
Email: broberts@integrafin.co.uk |
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This is for information purposes only and does not, and is not intended to, constitute professional advice. It is not a recommendation or a financial promotion. It is for general guidance and for use by professional advisers only. Unless stated otherwise, any opinions expressed are our own or based on our interpretation of relevant rules and regulation. |
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