The painful retrenchment across major asset classes which commenced at the beginning of the year accelerated in April with some segments giving up all their post-Covid gains. Fears of entrenched inflation, tightening financial conditions, the Ukraine war and slowing growth were once again the dominant themes. The Chinese Communist Party’s (CPP) decision to seal off some Chinese provinces with key industrial hubs in its attempt to combat rising Covid-19 infections also sent shivers across the market, with investors worrying about a potential dent on an already fragile global growth outlook. Correlations between risk assets and safe assets remained elevated which means that even a well-balanced portfolio cratered this month.