Economic Update February 2018
Summary
As 2017 ended, markets had entered a bliss point, with strong returns in a low volatility environment, little inflation and monetary policy settings that were expected to remain accommodative and relatively unsurprising. However, after an uneventful
and buoyant January, the illusion was shattered in early February as equity markets globally took a leg down.
US: Equity market and volatility. A pullback and volatility spike after a period of calm and growth.
About the author
Chief Economist
Alex Joiner, PhD
Joined in 2016
Alex Joiner is Chief Economist at IFM Investors. He is responsible for the firm’s economic, financial market and geopolitical risk analysis that is key in IFM’s investment process. In this capacity he engages with IFM’s domestic and global clients on macro-investment trends and themes. He is a frequent commentator on economic and markets via traditional and social media and regularly speaks at public forums and conferences. He has over two decades of professional experience in economic and markets and prior to joining IFM was the Chief Economist at Bank of America Merrill Lynch (Australian & New Zealand) after being a senior economist at ANZ Bank. He holds a First Class honours degree in Economics and a PhD in Econometrics from Monash University. Alex is also committee member of the Australian Business Economists.