How did the financial markets do?

Equities

  • The US stock market started off well, with positive results in January. Investors’ confidence, however, shifted in February, partly due to uncertainty about President Trump’s trade policy. Once import tariffs were announced, US stock prices fell, with the return on US equities coming out to -8% for the first quarter of 2025.
  • European equities performed well with a positive return of 5.9% in the past quarter, with investors valuing European companies higher. The first months of 2025 in particular saw a high return, with US trade policies only leading to a drop in prices in March.
  • Last year, US equities outperformed European equities. As a result of developments this quarter, the difference in returns over the past twelve months has narrowed. Both regions performed almost equally well during that time.
  • The share prices of companies in emerging markets, such as Eastern Europe and China, fell by -0.9% last quarter. In the first months of the year, prices in China rose further on the back of optimism about, for example, artificial intelligence. In Eastern Europe, there was a positive response to stimulus plans by Germany and the European Union. Nevertheless, the negative impact of the announced US import tariffs weighed more heavily.
  • Finally, the return on globally listed real estate fell by 2.7% in the first quarter of 2025.

Bonds

  • The US administration’s policies and geopolitical tensions also affected Europe. The European Union and the new German government have announced new investment plans, which are to be financed by government loans. As a result, interest rates on European government bonds have risen and existing bonds have become less valuable.
  • The value of loans from European companies remained the same last quarter. Trade tensions had a negative impact, but investors reacted positively to European governments’ investment plans. They believe that the risk of these loans has decreased.
  • Loans from European companies with a higher risk (so-called ‘high-yield’ bonds) did, however, yield a positive return in the past quarter, with the price rising by 0.6%. This is due to the risk on these loans decreasing, which then increases the value of the loans.
Check the achieved returns