The global economy is still fragile, and the geopolitical situation remains unstable. The US central bank has hinted at possible rate cuts, but these are already priced in by markets. The investment policy remains “security before return”, with a partial underweighting of equities being our preferred method of capital protection. Equity markets experienced another sharp rise in valuations in June. Economic and geopolitical uncertainties are currently still too high for investors to relax their vigilance.

A number of traditional “safe haven” investments such as gold have racked up price gains in recent weeks. US Treasuries, the Japanese yen and the Swiss franc have likewise been in vogue with investors against a backdrop of increasing uncertainties. In our view, broad diversification across all asset classes makes sense given the various unresolved geopolitical rivalries and tensions. A dialogue is a fine thing, but it is not the same as a deal – the geopolitical rivalry between the US and China remains very much in place after the G20 summit in Osaka, as do the simmering tensions between Iran and the US.

The turbulent performance of Bitcoin over the last year has brought this cryptocurrency to the attention of the wider public. But this currency has actually been around for almost ten years, and an estimated 1,600 other alternative currencies have also sprung up in the meantime. The question is often asked whether these constructs – which only exist in the form of digital code – can really be considered currencies at all in a way that bears comparison with the dollar, euro or yen. We will return to this question later in this article. First of all it is worth establishing what actually lies behind cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ether and Ripple.