Fortress has mixed performance in last quarter

-The operators of Fortress Funds say the investment landscape appears to be turning the corner after a “difficult year in 2022”.

This was outlined by Fortress Fund Managers in its quarterly report for the three months period ending March 31.

According to the company’s management, while there was not necessarily a lot of good news, there were fewer reports of bad news.

In its note to investors, Fortress stated: “The first quarter had a fair helping of bad news, and yet despite this, it had positive returns for both stocks and bonds, and the Fortress funds all saw healthy gains.

“The bad news this quarter centred around inflation and the United States banking system. Inflation has been moderating but in fits and starts, not in a satisfying straight line down. Parts of the US banking system, meanwhile, got caught with large, nervous  depositors on the one hand, and portfolios of underwater bonds on the other.”

On the positive side, the mutual fund operators who have over $1 billion in assets under management in its three major funds, said the scare in the American banking system raised the chances that the time of aggressive rate hikes is over.

It noted that financial markets were very pleased with this development.

Fortress added: “This quarter’s good news/bad news story is another reminder that the financial markets are not what we see in our daily lives or in the media.

“Financial markets ‘feel around’ constantly for what the future will look like long before it ever happens. This means that sensible long-term investing isn’t about waiting for when the news is undeniably good. It means investing steadily in good assets when they are available at good prices, even – perhaps especially – when the news is bad, and just might get a bit better in time.”

Addressing the Caribbean Growth Fund’s performance during the first quarter of the year, it was revealed that the net assets of this Fund were $620 million, down from $652 million this time last year.

This mutual fund, which invests primarily in Caribbean and international equities, indicated that Caribbean shares were mostly weaker during the quarter, while there was a rally by global shares, in which the fund invested 64 percent of its assets.

In its assessment of the future, the fund managers pointed out: “It is now likely that a long-awaited US economic slowdown is upon us. This could mean weaker company earnings in the months ahead, but it could also mean an end to interest rate hikes.

“It may also leave room for other geographies such as Europe and Asia to see better equity returns than the United States to the benefit of globally diversified investors – a development we would welcome,” Fortress added. (IMC1)