Positive returns for the month whilst below the market were well ahead of benchmark for the year after fees. Having surpassed our portfolio benchmarks for 6 out of 7 calendar years as detailed in the table overleaf, this underscores how Insync's meticulous, data-oriented investment strategy consistently yields robust performance. Importantly the funds are consistently achieving their objectives over their 5-year rolling period targets after fees.
Accenture’s Pulse of Change Index shows that the overall rate of change across factors like technology, talent, and economics has risen sharply, increasing by 183% over the past 4 years and 33% in the past year. This means digital disruption is reaching unprecedented speeds and at an accelerating pace. Companies must now reimagine the very core of their business with a more disruptive mindset rather than incrementally.
This is part of a broader investment regime change that is presently unfolding. Higher interest rates, governments focusing on securing critical supply of goods and services, and trends like re-shoring are contributing to an economic and market environment that will likely be much more volatile. Dispersion in returns within and between sectors as well as across geographies will emerge. This makes decisions based on macro forecasting much more difficult. Active stock picking will be more important in delivering attractive returns. Â
Cybersecurity Megatrend:          Secure Acceleration!  Cybersecurity has emerged as one of the defining challenges of our digital age. Recent insights from McKinsey coupled with alarming statistics from J.P. Morgan Chase (itself subject to thousands of daily attacks) underscore the urgency and scale of this issue. Forecasts suggest a near tenfold exponential growth in spending reaching $1.5 to $2.0 trillion annually. This is no surprise given a reported 45 billion hacking attempts each day across industries highlighting the relentless and sophisticated cyber threats of today.  The acceleration of our digital economies is not merely a ‘transient phase’ but a permanent shift.  As almost all industries pivot to digital solutions the integration of advanced technologies like AI and IoT, with the subsequent revolution in consumer behaviours, are now irreversible trends. In turn this expands the cyber-attack surface compounding the need for robust cybersecurity measures. Digital disruption technologies have exponentially increased the | complexity of securing digital ecosystems. The pandemic-induced remote work era and the consequent reliance on online collaboration tools havesignificantly elevated the risk of breaches necessitating advanced protection for the ever-growing volumes of sensitive data. Cheaper more powerful computing benefits all including hackers.  Moreover, evolving regulatory responses add another layer of urgency. The U.S. Cyber Incident Reporting for Critical Infrastructure Act legislation, and directives from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for public disclosure of cybersecurity incidents, make it clear that cybersecurity is no longer just an IT issue but a top-tier strategic concern that can impact market confidence and a company's bottom line.  |
#Performance #Megatrends #Cybersecurity #FutureFocused