DOCSLIB.ORG

BSE – Guide for Investors

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
BSE – Guide for Investors 2 BARBADOS STOCK EXCHANGE INC. GUIDE FOR INVESTORS GETTING STARTED As a potential investor you first need to make some serious overestimating your investment knowledge you may make it decisions on what you want to accomplish with your money and difficult to get the right advice, you may make investment when you want to accomplish it. Think about it for a while as decisions you are not quite sure about or understand and you every investment opportunity may not suit your needs. Suitability may lose hard earned dollars by not being honest with yourself. may well depend on your financial situation, your investment goals, how much time you have to reach your goals, and your INVESTMENT TIP tolerance for risk. Always be sure you understand your investment options And as with every major investment decision we make in our lives before you make a final decision. we need information and guidance. So before you start deciding which shares you will buy take a GETTING THE ADVICE YOU NEED couple of minutes to think and jot down notes on where you are now financially and where you want to be in the future. Great financial advice is an important first step towards successful investment planning. A good place to start is to work with a Ask yourself these questions: financial adviser or stockbroker to help you make informed decisions. 1. How much money do you have to invest now? 2. Will your employment income allow you to invest additional Choose an adviser or stockbroker who: money in the future? • is knowledgeable about the market and able to give you sound 3. How much? financial advice about investments and specific securities of 4. Are you confident that will continue? interest 5. What are your monthly financial obligations, and how much • can understand your needs do those obligations change from month-to-month or year-to- • communicates fluently year? • works hard for you 6. Do you have outstanding debts that you would like to pay off? • you are comfortable with 7. Do you plan to make any major purchases in the future? 8. Do you expect to inherit money at any point in the future? He or she can help you: 9. How much money would you like to have readily accessible in • understand financial markets and documents case of emergency? • calculate the amount of money you plan to invest • analyze your tolerance for risk The investment planning worksheet on page 12 can help you to • plan your investment portfolio start to answer these questions. This worksheet will not tell you • determine your investment objectives which investments are right for you, but it will help you work • keep an accurate and complete record of all your market through information that is important to your overall investment transactions strategy and will help your financial adviser give you sound financial advice. It’s important to note that anyone trading in or advising you on securities must be a member of the Barbados Stock Exchange Inc INVESTMENT TIP and registered with the Securities Commission of Barbados. See page 10 for an overview of the Barbados Stock Exchange. To invest successfully you must first think through exactly what it is you want to accomplish and what resources you INVESTMENT TIP have available to make it happen. Ask questions until you thoroughly understand what you are investing in and provide all relevant information to RECOGNIZING YOUR LIMITS assist your broker in giving you the best investment advice possible. You’ve made a decision on how much you could possibly invest but being a smart investor means recognizing your limits. By See list of registered brokers on page 11 BARBADOS STOCK EXCHANGE INC. GUIDE FOR INVESTORS 3 BUILDING A SOUND INVESTMENT FOUNDATION a. An instant $7,500 An investment is an item of value purchased to generate income b. $15,000 if the presenter flicks the coin in your favour (heads or to grow in value. To help you build a sound foundation, these you win and tails you lose) five steps can be used when selecting various investments to c. $25,000 if you choose the Ace of Diamonds from a deck of ensure you meet your objectives. cards and win • Personality Investment Profile • Investment Goals When you invest, do you wish your portfolio to grow: • Asset Allocation Model a. Slowly but surely • Make Wise Investment Decisions b. Fast even though there may be the risk of losing some money • Portfolio Records and Monitoring c. Much faster than most even though there is a risk of losing considerable money PERSONALITY INVESTMENT PROFILE Do you believe that when you are young you should take more risks to build your investment portfolio faster, You’ve calculated the potential amount you can invest but as a because if you lose you still have time to rebuild the serious investor you need to assess your tolerance to risk, your investment: need for liquidity and the timeline you have set for reaching your goals. The personality investment profile helps you to define your a. Agree personality. b. Neither agree nor disagree c. Disagree How risk tolerant are you? Complete the personality investment profile self test to find out. Scores for your test are: a = 1 point, b = 2 points, c = 3 points If you had several different investment choices which one would you choose? Check page 8 when you have added up your score to find out your personality investment profile score. a. Yields 4% with no risk b. Offers 7% moderate risk The need to balance your risk, return, time frame and liquidity c. Offers 15% with high risk (marketability) are important to any investor. With any degree of uncertainty there is always a risk that all the investment might be Do you prefer to have your investments grow slowly rather lost. There is also no guarantee that after tax, profits will give you than losing it all by investing in speculative investments? the return on your investment that you had anticipated. If you are working towards a particular goal the cost of the investment a. Agree will be higher in a shorter time frame than for a longer one. You b. Neither agree nor disagree also need to take into consideration how easy it is to convert c. Disagree your investment into cash and how much you are likely to get at market prices (liquidity). In your portfolio do you prefer to have high risk-return investments as: INVESTMENT TIP a. 0% Every investment has three key characteristics - expected b. 25% return, risk and marketability or liquidity. c. 75% During a TV game show you are offered three choices, which option would you choose? 4 BARBADOS STOCK EXCHANGE INC. GUIDE FOR INVESTORS INVESTMENT GOALS INVESTMENT DECISIONS Your investment will depend on your future goals and the time There are many different kinds of investments to choose from that you have to achieve them. A careful analysis with the help including stocks, mutual funds, treasury bills and government of the Investment Planning Worksheet can define and assess the bonds to name a few. Your choice again is based on your goals, amount of money you will need to achieve those goals. Speak to amount to be invested, how you wish to diversify, what returns you your stockbroker or investment advisers about your future dreams expect to receive and the time period you have available to you to and aspirations to come up with an investment package to best invest. suit your needs. Mutual funds may work better for the small investor as opposed to the purchase of stocks. ASSET ALLOCATION MODEL You can make informed investment decisions by either researching Based on the results of your personality investment profile you can or getting your financial adviser to research companies you are divide up your investment portfolio into different kinds of assets interesting in investing in. Information can be found in annual to better understand and manage the risk-reward relationship. reports, business news items and press releases by the company or Your investment options under the asset allocation model can vary its regulator. with the economic conditions. Investment opportunities based on their return and risk can fall under the following asset allocation INVESTMENT TIP categories: The first step to becoming an informed investor is by doing Higher Risk Investment research to understand the investment opportunities. Stock options, undeveloped land, Mutual Funds - investments under this section can either yield large gains or losses. PORTFOLIO RECORDS AND MONITORING Moderate Risk Investments Keeping accurate records and monitoring your investment is one way to ensure you are still on track towards your goals. Your broker Income producing properties, conservative Mutual Funds, Stocks or financial adviser can help you understand any terminologies - investments can offer a long-term potential for higher rates of which are not clear. They should also send you statements and return or may lose money. reports on a regular basis so you can monitor the performance of the investment. Low Risk Investments Government savings bonds, corporate bonds - these investments WHAT MUST BE DISCLOSED? would hardly lose money but they tend to offer a lower potential rate of return than higher risk investments In Barbados, public companies listed on the board of the Barbados Stock Exchange must file copies of quarterly and annual financial Cash and Cash Equivalents statements with Barbados Stock Exchange. Cash, savings accounts, treasury bills, insurance - these assets The BSE and the public must also be advised about other important can be made accessible at any time (liquid) and offer the safest events or material changes, such as take-over bids, issues of new or category of investment but can produce the lowest rate of return.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Report 2013 Year
    2013 Year End Report 8th Avenue Belleville, St. Michael BB11114, Barbados T: (246) 436-9871/2 | F: (246) 429-8942 | www.bse.com.bb The following report reviews the overall performance of the companies listed on the Barbados Stock Exchange for the period January 1, 2013 to December 31, 2013 inclusive. Additionally, in an effort to provide greater detail on the market performance, fourth quarter information has been included. General discussion was also given to the overall economic situation of the country and its impact on the general performance of the market. The report has been structured as follows: • Overall Performance • Economic Factors • Trading activity by Market • Indices and Market Capitalization • Advancers/Decliners for 2013 • Historical Company Trading statistics • Market Events • The Regulatory Roundup • Concluding Remarks 3 Overall Performance General performance on the Board of the Barbados Stock Exchange Inc. (BSE) for the year 2013 showed comparable performance to that of the wider macro-economic environment. Trading for the year started well with the completion of transactions pursuant to the take-over of Republic Bank Barbados Limited (RBBL) by Republic Bank Limited. Average monthly trading was steady from that point until a surge in trading activity during the month of December which saw a spike in activity in both the Regular and Put Through Markets. The Put Through Market had the most improved performance in terms of increased activity as trades occurred on this Market every month with the exception of November. The Junior Market, although only recording one single trade, saw increases in performance in both trading volumes and values; there was one Block Trade transaction during the year 2013.
    [Show full text]
  • Barbados Stock Exchange Inc. Market Activity Report
    Barbados Stock Exchange Inc. Market Activity Report 2019 Report on the Trading Activity for the Securities Issued by the Listed Companies of the Barbados Stock Exchange Inc. • • • Overview The following report reviews the overall performance of the companies listed on the Barbados Stock Exchange Inc. for the year ended December 31, 2019. Additionally, to provide greater detail on the market performance, fourth quarter market statistics have been included. General discussion was also given to the overall economic situation of the country and its impact on the general performance of the market. The report has been structured as follows: • Overall Performance • Trading Activity by Market • Indices and Market Capitalization • Advancers/Decliners for 2019 • Historical Company Trading Statistics • Market Events – 2019 • The Regulatory Roundup – 2019 • Conclusion Overall Performance Overall market performance for securities listed and traded across the board of the Barbados Stock Exchange Inc. for the year ended December 31, 2019 showed promise as total trading volume and value increased by 2,891% and 2,825% respectively. The Regular market produced mixed results as the increases experienced in traded volume did not have a corresponding effect on the traded value which suffered a decline. The Put Through Market performed well, closing out 2019 with marked increases in both traded volumes and values when compared to its performance at the close of 2018. There was one (1) trade occurring on the Block Trade Market1 while no activity was recorded on the Innovation & Growth Market (IGM) or the International Securities 1 See Block Trade Market section. 1 • • • Market (ISM). The Bond Market recorded some activity as bondholders became more familiar, and comfortable, with these newly restructured fixed income securities.
    [Show full text]
  • Inaugural Listing the International Securities Market Welcomes Productive Business Solutions Limited
    INAUGURAL LISTING THE INTERNATIONAL SECURITIES MARKET WELCOMES PRODUCTIVE BUSINESS SOLUTIONS LIMITED Productive Business Solutions he Barbados Stock Exchange is proud to announce the inaugural securities listing on its PBS is the largest exclusive Xerox distributor in the Western Hemisphere operating across 14 International Securities Market (ISM) – Productive Business Solutions Limited (PBS), the parent countries in the Caribbean and Central America. The company also distributes other T of the PBS group of companies. multinational information technology brands such as Cisco, Oracle and Lenovo, and offers comprehensive document solutions and equipment rentals to a diverse customer base. PBS, an international business company incorporated and licensed under the laws of Barbados, was welcomed to the ISM during a listing ceremony on November 2, 2017 that marked the successful cross- listing of its Jamaica Stock Exchange (JSE) traded security. The event was attended by representatives of Why the ISM the lead arranger CIBC FirstCaribbean, listing sponsor ListAssist, the BSE and representatives of PBS’ The International Securities Market is a global market exchange that operates from the heart of subsidiaries. the Caribbean. The ISM offers a unique investor pool that combines both regional and international wealth for securities trading. With a growing ecosystem of quality market Paul B Scott, Chairman of the PBS Group, said that the company made a deliberate decision to offer a participants, the ISM provides a dynamic market for companies looking to raise capital and secondary listing on the BSE to offer investors access to a regional company and support the vision for a improve their corporate visibility. more integrated and regional securities exchange.
    [Show full text]
  • STOCK MARKET VOLATILITY SPILLOVER from DEVELOPED MARKETS to REGIONAL MARKETS TIFFANY GROSVENOR and KEVIN GREENIDGE ABSTRACT This
    STOCK MARKET VOLATILITY SPILLOVER FROM DEVELOPED MARKETS TO REGIONAL MARKETS TIFFANY GROSVENOR AND KEVIN GREENIDGE1 ABSTRACT This paper builds on the work of Kim and Langrin (1996) to investigate the co-movement in stock markets between the developing countries of the Caribbean as well as from developed markets. Multivariate Generalised Autoregressive Conditional Heteroscedasticty (GARCH) is employed to examine the volatility spillover between the three regional exchanges namely that of Jamaica, Trinidad and Barbados, and from the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). The study utilises daily data on the composite index of each stock market to assess the extent to which volatility spillovers exist. Results suggest that significant spillovers indeed exist between each of the regional exchanges, as well as from the NYSE. Keywords:Caribbean, Stock exchange, GARCH, Volatility spillover. 1Corresponding author: Kevin Greenidge, Research and Economic Analysis Department, Central Bank of Barbados, Tom Adams Financial Centre, Bridgetown, Barbados. Tel:246-436-6870; Fax:246-427-1431; Email: [email protected] TIFFANY GROSVENOR AND KEVIN GREENIDGE / 45 1.0 Introduction The last two to three decades have witnessed increasing levels of financial integration among the world economies, as restrictions on capital mobility across countries have gradually weakened. The consequential increase in cross-border financial flows, along with the increasing regionalisation of economic activity, has resulted in greater interdependence of major financial markets all over the world. Caribbean countries are no exception here, being part of a regional grouping; many of these countries have instituted a continuing policy of financial market liberalisation, which should have resulted in increasing internationalisation of their financial markets.
    [Show full text]
  • The Determinants of Realised Volatility on Caribbean Stock Exchanges
    Munich Personal RePEc Archive Convergence of Caribbean Stock Exchanges Howard, Stacia and Craigwell, Roland Research Department, Central Bank of Barbados, Department of Economics, University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus, Barbados 2010 Online at https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/40930/ MPRA Paper No. 40930, posted 29 Aug 2012 04:31 UTC DRAFT Convergence of Caribbean Stock Exchanges Stacia Howard1 Research Department Central Bank of Barbados P.O.Box 1016 Bridgetown Barbados and Roland Craigwell Department of Economics University of the West Indies Cave Hill Campus Barbados November, 2010 1 Corresponding author; email: [email protected] 1 DRAFT Convergence of Caribbean Stock Exchanges Stacia Howard and Roland Craigwell Abstract This paper uses daily data for market returns as well as for the cross-listed securities on the three main stock exchanges in the Caribbean: the Barbados Stock Exchange, the Trinidad and Tobago Stock Exchange and the Jamaica Stock Exchange to examine the beta-convergence and sigma- convergence of the markets. The results suggest that with respect to sigma-convergence, while the markets are becoming increasingly integrated, the convergence of the returns of the cross- listed securities is debatable, indicating some degree of information asymmetry. The results of the beta-convergence imply that the speed of convergence is still rather slow in comparison to other markets throughout the world. JEL No: G29; O47; O54 Keywords: Stock Exchanges; Convergence; Caribbean 2 DRAFT Introduction The three main stock exchanges in the Caribbean – the Barbados Stock Exchange (BSE), the Jamaica Stock Exchange (JSE) and the Trinidad and Tobago Stock exchange (TTSE) – have struggled with inefficiency in their 30 odd years of existence.
    [Show full text]
  • The Barbados Stock Exchange
    THE BARBADOS STOCK EXCHANGE FACILITATING WEALTH CREATION BARBADOS STOCK EXCHANGE The Barbados Stock Exchange FACILITATING WEALTH CREATION The Barbados Stock Exchange (BSE) was established in 1987 by the Parliament of Barbados as a statutory body under the Securities Exchange Act of 1982. According to its General Manager, Marlon Yarde, up until that time, “a lot of trading of securities was done in attorneys’ offices, and it was believed that we had reached a stage in our development where we needed our own stock exchange to create the opportunity for capital formation for companies that were AT A GLANCE | THE looking for financing in the jurisdiction.” BARBADOS STOCK EXCHANGE For the first several years of its existence, WHAT: A shareholder-owned company for the the BSE, which was known at the time as the trading of stocks and securities Securities Exchange of Barbados, functioned as a government-sponsored entity. In 2001, WHERE: Bridgetown, Barbados it re-incorporated as a not-for-profit organi- WEBSITE: www.bse.com.bb zation and the government established the Barbados Securities Commission, now the Financial Services Commission, which took on the role of regulating the country’s capital markets. BARBADOS STOCK EXCHANGE “At that point, we still had the responsibility to regulate the members and the companies listed on the Stock Exchange,” explains Yarde. “We had 16 ordinary members and four des- ignated members, which are various interest groups in the society who, at the time of es- tablishment, the government thought should have a say in how the Stock Exchange was run. They included the Central Bank of Barbados, the Barbados Bar Association, the Barbados Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and the Barbados Ministry of Banking and Finance.” In December 2015, the BSE demutualized, moving from being a member-owned com- pany to a shareholder-owned company.
    [Show full text]
  • The List of Approved Stock Exchanges
    November 9, 2018 The following stock exchanges are approved by the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority for purposes of the Regulatory Laws pursuant to the Authority’s Regulatory Policy – Approved Stock Exchanges. Note: This list is for illustrative purposes only and is subject to change. To verify whether a stock exchange is approved by the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority, please refer to the Regulatory Policy – Approved Stock Exchanges. Amman Stock Exchange Deutsche Borse Athens Exchange Dusseldorf Stock Exchange Australian Securities Exchange EDX London Barbados Stock Exchange Eurex BATS Exchange Euronext Bayerische Borse AG Fukuoka Stock Exchange* Berlin Stock Exchange Gibraltar Stock Exchange Bermuda Stock Exchange Hong Kong Exchange and Clearing BM&F Bovespa Indonesia Stock Exchange BME Spanish Exchanges Intercontinental Exchange BOAG Borsen AG International Securities Exchange Bolsa de Comercio de Buenos Aires Irish Stock Exchange Bolsa de Comercio de Santiago Istanbul Stock Exchange Bolsa de Valores de Caracas* Jamaica Stock Exchange Bolsa de Valores de Colombia JASDAQ Bolsa de Valores de Lima Johannesburg Stock Exchange Bombay Stock Exchange Korea Stock Exchange Borsa Italiana SPA London Stock Exchange Bratislava Stock Exchange Ljubljana Stock Exchange Bucharest Stock Exchange Luxembourg Stock Exchange Budapest Stock Exchange Madrid Stock Exchange Bulgarian Stock Exchange Malaysia Stock Exchange Cayman Islands Stock Exchange Malta Stock Exchange Channel Islands Stock Exchange* Mexican Stock Exchange Chicago Board Options Exchange
    [Show full text]
  • 2020 Market Highlights
    2020 Market Highlights Summary 2020 was an extraordinary year for everyone, perhaps rather too eventful. The Covid-19 pandemic, the US presidential election, Brexit, the resignation of Japan’s prime minister Shinzo Abe and increased tension between the US and China created vast economic uncertainty and a flood of pessimistic forecasts. In March we saw market volatility levels comparable only to those of the Great Financial Crisis of 2008 and for months on end, normal working, travel, and leisure arrangements were severely disrupted. When we look at the data, the magnitude of the shock is evident, particularly in March. But what is remarkable is that despite the exceptional circumstances and even during the worst days of the crisis, markets remained open and functioning. In addition, after the peak in uncertainty observed in March, markets quickly recovered. By the end of July, most indicators registered a quick reversal to the activity levels seen before the pandemic, reflecting a strong confidence in the markets and in their role in supporting the economy. Towards the end of the year, the news of the development and approval of several Covid-19 vaccines, the final agreement between the UK and the EU, and the outcome of the US elections seemed to have boosted the confidence of investors and issuers, driving markets to end the year on a high note. Key Indicators Equities • After a sharp drop (20.7%) in Q1, domestic market capitalisation quickly recovered, reaching pre-pandemic levels by the end of Q2. • In November 2020, global market capitalisation passed the 100 USD trillion mark for the first time, ending the year at 109.21 USD trillion, up 19.7% when compared with the end of 2019.
    [Show full text]
  • Doing Data Differently
    General Company Overview Doing data differently V.14.9. Company Overview Helping the global financial community make informed decisions through the provision of fast, accurate, timely and affordable reference data services With more than 20 years of experience, we offer comprehensive and complete securities reference and pricing data for equities, fixed income and derivative instruments around the globe. Our customers can rely on our successful track record to efficiently deliver high quality data sets including: § Worldwide Corporate Actions § Worldwide Fixed Income § Security Reference File § Worldwide End-of-Day Prices Exchange Data International has recently expanded its data coverage to include economic data. Currently it has three products: § African Economic Data www.africadata.com § Economic Indicator Service (EIS) § Global Economic Data Our professional sales, support and data/research teams deliver the lowest cost of ownership whilst at the same time being the most responsive to client requests. As a result of our on-going commitment to providing cost effective and innovative data solutions, whilst at the same time ensuring the highest standards, we have been awarded the internationally recognized symbol of quality ISO 9001. Headquartered in United Kingdom, we have staff in Canada, India, Morocco, South Africa and United States. www.exchange-data.com 2 Company Overview Contents Reference Data ............................................................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Nascent Markets: Understanding the Success and Failure of New Stock Markets
    Nascent markets: Understanding the success and failure of new stock markets José Albuquerque de Sousa, Thorsten Beck, Peter A.G. van Bergeijk, and Mathijs A. van Dijk* October 2016 Abstract We study the success and failure of 59 newly established (“nascent”) stock markets since 1975 in their first 40 years of activity. Nascent markets differ markedly in their success, as measured by number of listings, market capitalization, and trading activity. Long-term success is in part determined by early success: a high initial number of listings and trading activity are necessary, though not sufficient, conditions for long-term success. Banking sector development at the time of establishment and development of national savings over the life of the stock market are the other two most reliable predictors of success. We find little evidence that structural factors such as legal and political institutions matter. Rather, our results point to an important role of banks, demand factors, and initial scale and success in fostering long-term stock market development. * Albuquerque de Sousa and van Dijk are at the Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University. Beck is at Cass Business School, City University London and CEPR. Van Bergeijk is at the International Institute of Social Studies, Erasmus University. E-mail addresses: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], and [email protected]. We thank Stijn Claessens, Jan Dul, Erik Feyen, Andrei Kirilenko, Thomas Lambert, Roberto Steri (EFA discussant), and seminar participants at the 2016 European Finance Association Meetings, the International Institute of Social Studies, the Netherlands Institute for Advanced Study in the Humanities and Social Sciences, and the Rotterdam School of Management for helpful comments.
    [Show full text]
  • Issue 46/2021 Quarter Ended March 2021
    Quarterly Statistical Bulletin (QSB) Issue 46/2021 Quarter ended March 2021 Preface The Capital Markets Authority (CMA) Statistical Bulletin is developed and published on a quarterly basis by CMA to inform the industry stakeholders and the public on the key statistical indicators on capital markets performance during the relevant period. While reasonable care has been taken to prepare this Bulletin, the Authority accepts no responsibility or liability whatsoever resulting from the use of information contained herein. Note further, that CMA has no objection to the material contained herein being referenced, provided an acknowledgement of the same is made. Any comments and/or suggestions on the statistics can be sent to [email protected] 2 Abbreviations and Acronyms BR Broker(s) CDSC Central Depository and Settlement Corporation CDS Central Depository and Settlement CIC Co-operative Insurance Company CMA Capital Markets Authority CMC Cooper Moors Corporation CPI Consumer Price index CIS Collective Investment Scheme CU Custodians DTB Diamond Trust Bank DTM Deposit Taking Microfinance EAC East African Community EAPCC East African Portland Cement Company EC East African Corporate investors EI East African Individual investors FC Foreign Corporate Investors FI Foreign Individual Investors IOSCO International Organization of Securities Commissions IPO Initial Public Offer KShs Kenya Shillings KNBS Kenya National Bureau of Statistics LC Local Corporate investors LI Local Individual investors NASI NSE All-Share Index NIC National Industrial Credit NSE Nairobi Securities Exchange PO Public Offer Q1 Quarter one Q2 Quarter two 3 Q3 Quarter three Q4 Quarter four QoQ Quarter on Quarter USD United States Dollars 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .....................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • 2020 Market Highlights
    2020 Market Highlights Summary 2020 was an extraordinary year for everyone, perhaps rather too eventful. The Covid-19 pandemic, the US presidential election, Brexit, the resignation of Japan’s prime minister Shinzo Abe and increased tension between the US and China created vast economic uncertainty and a flood of pessimistic forecasts. In March we saw market volatility levels comparable only to those of the Great Financial Crisis of 2008 and for months on end, normal working, travel, and leisure arrangements were severely disrupted. When we look at the data, the magnitude of the shock is evident, particularly in March. But what is remarkable is that despite the exceptional circumstances and even during the worst days of the crisis, markets remained open and functioning. In addition, after the peak in uncertainty observed in March, markets quickly recovered. By the end of July, most indicators registered a quick reversal to the activity levels seen before the pandemic, reflecting a strong confidence in the markets and in their role in supporting the economy. Towards the end of the year, the news of the development and approval of several Covid-19 vaccines, the final agreement between the UK and the EU, and the outcome of the US elections seemed to have boosted the confidence of investors and issuers, driving markets to end the year on a high note. Key Indicators Equities • After a sharp drop (20.7%) in Q1, domestic market capitalisation quickly recovered, reaching pre-pandemic levels by the end of Q2. • In November 2020, global market capitalisation passed the 100 USD trillion mark for the first time, ending the year at 109.21 USD trillion, up 19.7% when compared with the end of 2019.
    [Show full text]