– We were back on the road in April. It was great catch-up face to face with clients for presentations and portfolio updates. The war in Ukraine has escalated, sanctions have been imposed, disrupting commodity supplies and creating high volatility in some markets. In this environment, almost all fixed-income segments have lost between 4 – 8% year-to-date. The reasons for this are the forthcoming interest rate hikes and the widening of spreads due to the uncertainties. Despite equities recovering part of their year-to-date losses in March after two consecutive months of notable declines, April is proving to be challenging again with Inflation becoming the number one concern for most investors.