September seemed to be characterised by a sudden swing in global sentiment in the absence of any single major development. A number of factors were commonly cited. These include geopolitical (Ebola, Russia-Ukraine, ISIS, Hong Kong), fundamental (a lack of breadth in US equity market gains, slowing growth momentum in Europe, Japan and China), and diverging central bank policy paths (US and UK compared with Europe and Japan). Regardless of the causes, growth orientated assets generally sold off (equities, credit and commodities), while volatility picked up from what had been unusually low levels.
