We have been counselling our clients to try to ignore politics and geopolitics when they consider their investment strategy. Instead, we have said, pay attention to the fundamentals, the strong economy, and impressive corporate earnings.

A strong U.S. economy, continued global growth improvement, a concerted effort by global central banks to remain accommodative as long as possible, and a general sense of complacency about valuations in the equity markets provided the backdrop for 2017’s wins.

As January began, it was clear that 2017 was going to be a tough act to follow for investors. It was a year marked by historically low volatility, essentially unchanged Treasury yields, and a straight up trajectory for equity markets, and as such, it seemed unlikely for this Goldilocks scenario to repeat itself again in 2018.

If there is one thing that all investors can agree on from the first quarter of 2018, it is that volatility in the markets is most certainly back. But what does that mean, and why is it such a critical data point for market participants?

In uncertain times, purpose is what keeps you anchored but almost paradoxically it’s also what keeps you faster, nimble and agile. What is the formula for success for EY Entrepreneur of the Year® Award winners?

In what seems to typify modern markets, price and yield moves that used to take several months, now happen in a matter of weeks or merely days. The start of 2018 has been characterized by volatility and another leg higher in yields.