The last quarter was not a great one with my portfolio dropping by 2.6%. After a decent summer, September was a real shocker with a rotation away from growth shares hitting most of the shares in my portfolio and my watchlist simultaneously. I was also hit by a couple of profit warnings from CMC Markets and Boohoo. Underperformance against my benchmarks will happen from time to time so this isn’t a great cause for concern but it does serve as a warning to check my strategy is still working. I’m feeling cautious about its short to medium term prospects from here so have raised a bit of cash.

Inflation has been consistent theme in my posts for a while now, to the extent that it has become rather boring to talk about. However, it is unfortunately still the most important macro issue at the moment and the signs of how disruptive and persistent its effects might be are getting worse. Central bankers are starting to express concern that it might be less transitory than they hoped and asset markets have reacted badly with yields rising again and equities resuming their rotation from growth to value. Last week was pretty dire for my portfolio (down around 9%) as many shares turned down at the same time.