Having recently joined Satis I thought this would be a perfect opportunity to say hello to you all as well as reflect on the year that we have all had.

I have worked as a Financial Planner for several years before joining Satis and I am very excited to be working alongside Ben and the great team at Satis.

The start of the year didn’t seem like it was going to be vastly dissimilar to previous years and rumblings of the first outbreak of COVID in China did not seem to scare many. With our first UK lockdown starting in March (yes first, who would have thought we’d be lucky enough to have two) everyone seemed to place greater importance on stockpiling toilet roll than tinned food. Zoom quizzes and online exercise classes followed, and the Spring and Summer months kept everyone walking.

There were many passionate protests for racial equality around the globe due to an increased awareness from the Black Lives Matter movement. These protests were larger than those of the civil rights movement in the 1960s and look to have brought a new diverse demographic to political activism. We fast forward several months and after few sleepless nights  the US  welcomed a new President. However what has been celebrated as even more monumental is Kamala Harris’ appointment, the first black woman and first Asian-American woman acting as Vice President Elect.

Most recently a topic that seems to be creeping back in to the News headlines is Brexit. Four and a half years have passed since the UK voted to leave the European Union on 23 June 2016 and no doubt we will all feel some change in one form or another. Individuals and companies may have to adapt, although I’m sure change is something we have all got fairly used to in 2020. The full effects of Brexit are unknown however rest assured that our investment philosophy remains wholly driven by academia.

We all hope to end the year with some more positivity and that now appears possible. The UK is the first country to approve a safe vaccine to fight COVID. A few have argued that markets had already responded positively to the news of a vaccine being found, before it was approved. What the markets will do in 2021 is hard to predict and not something I will attempt as not many do it successfully.

Ben’s first article in January 2020 mentioned optimism and co-operation and hope for the future. One thing the virus has certainly done is increase comradery. Certainly in London, more people are now aware of who their neighbours are and the younger generation have had the opportunity to get to know the older generation.

At Satis we are aware we will have to manage change but we want to reassure you that the company ethos remains the same. Investing should always be viewed as a long term objective and during market volatility investors should avoid making drastic changes.

We carry on working effectively and our clients remain at the forefront of what we do. The way in which we construct our investment strategies at Satis won’t be changing and we continue to place importance on diversification.

Personally I am very much looking forward to at least some normality resuming; being back in the office with my colleagues, some of whom I have only met on Zoom, as well as meeting Satis clients face to face.

To all those who I may not get a chance to speak to before, Merry Christmas and I sincerely wish you all health and happiness.