The first month of the year marked the first anniversary of Donald Trump as US President, his state of the union speech, the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland and that interview… between Donald Trump and Piers Morgan… Trump’s first international broadcast interview.

The FTSE 100 ended January at 7,533.55, which was 2.0% lower than the 2017 year end closing figure of 7,687.77. During January, the index climbed to an intra-day high on 12 January of 7,792.56.

In the US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average continued its general upward momentum, closing January at 26,149.39. This was 5.4% above the 2018 opening level of 24,809.35 and was the tenth straight monthly gain, leaving March 2017 as its last losing month.

In terms of £ Sterling, it ended January at 1.41 US Dollars. This was 5.1% higher than the closing figure at the end of December of 1.35 US Dollars, and 15% higher than the closing figure in 2016 of 1.23 US Dollars.

Against the Euro, £ Sterling ended January at 1.14 Euros, which was slightly higher than the year opening rate of 1.13 Euros.

Inflation, as measured by the Consumer Prices Index including owner occupiers’ housing costs (CPIH), was 2.7% in December 2017 (this is December’s data which is reported in January). This was down from the previous month’s rate of 2.8%. The 12-month rate for the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) rate which excludes owner occupied housing costs and council tax was 3.0% in December 2017, which was also down from the 3.1% in November 2017.

The increase in interest rates during November 2017 helped long-suffering deposit savers slightly. However, they continue to lose money in real terms when you consider the rate of savings interest compared to the rate of inflation.

The Omnis Managed funds, Openwork Graphene Model Portfolios and new Omnis Managed Portfolio Service provide you with a diversified asset allocation in line with your Attitude to Risk, investing in Developed Market Equities, such as UK, US, Europe and Asia Pacific as well as Emerging Market equities. Cautious and Balanced investors will also have significant holdings in UK and Global Bonds, as well as Alternative Strategies.

We believe this multi-asset approach aims to give you the best opportunity for the highest level of return for your stated level of risk.

Past performance is not a guide to future performance. The value of an investment and any income from it can fall as well as rise as a result of market and currency fluctuations. You may not get back the amount you originally invested.

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