Ian Slattery
Head of Investment Solutions at Zurich
President of the Irish Institute of Pensions Management
Ian Slattery joined Zurich in 2013. Ian’s current role is as Head of Investment Solutions where his main responsibilities include producing investment commentary and insights, meeting with customers, and speaking at Zurich and industry events. He is the current President and an Associate of the Irish Institute for Pensions Management, a CFA® Charterholder, a CAIA® Charterholder, and holds a Masters in Economic Policy Studies from Trinity College, Dublin.
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Ian Slattery's latest articles
16/12/2024 | Zurich Ireland
Another ‘magnificent’ week for investment markets
The Fed will meet this week, and the market’s confidence in a 25-bps rate cut was strengthened after the CPI release on Wednesday, writes Ian Slattery.
02/12/2024 | Zurich Ireland
Black Friday ends a green week for US equities
Major US indices finished the week higher as investors shared a similar sentiment to consumers seen in Friday's release, writes Ian Slattery.
25/11/2024 | Zurich Ireland
Markets react to a weakening economic outlook in Europe
In the US, major equity indexes ended the week on a positive note, recovering some of the losses from the previous week, despite uncertainty surrounding the upcoming Trump administration’s policies contributing to rising geopolitical tensions, writes Ian Slattery.
18/11/2024 | Zurich Ireland
The week after the week before
Following an election week packed full of record highs, last week was a sobering one for US equities, writes Ian Slattery.
11/11/2024 | Zurich Ireland
Markets respond to US election results
The results of the US election created a wave of positivity in the US equity markets last week, principally founded on the belief that Trump’s administration will fulfil its promise of lower taxes and lighter regulation, writes Ian Slattery.
14/10/2024 | Zurich Ireland
Markets react as earnings season kicks off
Major US equity indices ended the week higher, reaching new record highs as the beginning of earnings season helped to offset several disappointing economic reports, writes Ian Slattery.
07/10/2024 | Zurich Ireland
Markets react to positive US jobs data and lower eurozone inflation
US major equity indexes ended the week on a positive note on the back of a stronger than expected employment data, despite reports of a dockworkers’ strikes at Eastern seaports in the US, writes Ian Slattery.
23/09/2024 | Zurich Ireland
Markets react to the Federal Reserve cutting interest rates
The highlight of the week was the Federal Reserve’s rate announcement after its policy meeting concluded on Wednesday, writes Ian Slattery.
16/09/2024 | Zurich Ireland
ECB cuts interest rates for the second time this year, what does this mean for markets?
In the US, major equity indexes finished the week higher, recovering much of the losses from the week before, writes Ian Slattery.
09/09/2024 | Zurich Ireland
US jobs growth lower than expected
US equities finished the week lower, with the S&P 500 Index experiencing its steepest weekly decline in 18 months, as concerns about an economic slowdown weighed on sentiment, writes Ian Slattery.
02/09/2024 | Zurich Ireland
Stocks end the week mixed amidst lower inflation
Major US equity indices ended the week mixed, writes Ian Slattery.
26/08/2024 | Zurich Ireland
Stocks rally on rate cut expectations
Last week, major US equity indices edged closer to record highs, writes Ian Slattery.
19/08/2024 | Zurich Ireland
Stocks rebound on lower inflation
US equities posted a strong week of gains as investors reacted positively to encouraging news from both inflation and economic growth perspectives, writes Ian Slattery.
12/08/2024 | Zurich Ireland
Equities end the week flat after recovery
In the US, major stock indexes ended the week broadly flat after a volatile period caused by growing fears of a potential recession, writes Ian Slattery.
29/07/2024 | Zurich Ireland
Equities show mixed returns amidst rotation
US equities ended the week with mixed returns for the second period in a row, writes Ian Slattery.
15/07/2024 | Zurich Ireland
Markets boosted by cooler US inflation
US equities finished the week higher in the US as cooling inflation led to improved sentiment amongst investors, writes Ian Slattery.
08/07/2024 | Zurich Ireland
UK labour party wins landslide
In the US, during a week shortened by Independence Day, equity markets ended higher, writes Ian Slattery.
24/06/2024 | Zurich Ireland
UK inflation hits 2% target for the first time since 2021
In the US, equities posted modest gains during a trading week shortened by the Juneteenth holiday.
17/06/2024 | Zurich Ireland
What does political uncertainty in France mean for European markets?
US equities rose at the end of the week, driven by lower-than-expected inflation indicators for May, as reflected in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Producer Price Index (PPI), writes Ian Slattery.
10/06/2024 | Zurich Ireland
ECB lowers interest rates by 25 basis points
US equities had a mixed performance for the week due to indications of a cooling economy and varying signals within the labour market, writes Ian Slattery.
04/06/2024 | Zurich Ireland
Markets react to inflation data
During the holiday-shortened week, the major US equity indices closed lower. The release of the Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index (PCE), which is the Federal Reserve's preferred gauge for tracking inflation, showed little change compared to previous months, writes Ian Slattery.
27/05/2024 | Zurich Ireland
Mixed equity market reactions to global PMI data
The major indices recorded widely varying results over the week. Equities saw a surge in the major tech-heavy indices, largely driven by NIVIDA’s strong earnings report, while the Dow suffered its worst week since early April, writes Ian Slattery.
20/05/2024 | Zurich Ireland
Equities rally on positive inflation news
Last week US equities rallied on the back of better-than-expected inflation news, writes Ian Slattery.
13/05/2024 | Zurich Ireland
Markets rise on cooler jobless claims
Last week saw US equities end the week in positive territory, as hopes that the labour market may be beginning to cool prevailed, writes Ian Slattery.
07/05/2024 | Zurich Ireland
Stocks rally on cooler labour market
Last week saw US equity markets close out Friday in positive territory despite volatile trading. Early in the week, negative economic data releases pushed stocks downward, with inflation being the primary concern for investors, writes Ian Slattery.
29/04/2024 | Zurich Ireland
Corporate earnings surprise to the upside
Friday saw US stocks break their three-week long losing streak as a slew of Q1 earnings reports were released, writes Ian Slattery.
22/04/2024 | Zurich Ireland
Stocks slide lower as Fed rolls back rate cut expectations
US Stocks ended the week in negative territory for the third time in a row on Friday, as higher-for-longer interest rate expectations continued to weigh on investors, writes Ian Slattery.
15/04/2024 | Zurich Ireland
Hot inflation print sees equities slow
Last week saw US stocks retreat from recent highs as a higher inflation reading caused many investors to pare back their interest rate cut expectations, writes Ian Slattery.
25/03/2024 | Zurich Ireland
Markets welcome future rate cuts
US Stocks ended last week on a high as investors cheered a number of indications from Federal Reserve policymakers that rates would decrease in 2024, writes Ian Slattery.
11/03/2024 | Zurich Ireland
US jobs data sends mixed signals
Last week saw US stocks display varied performance as momentum slowed somewhat, writes Ian Slattery.
04/03/2024 | Zurich Ireland
US Stocks end higher following positive inflation news
In the US, equities closed the week on a mostly positive note after favourable inflation updates. The Nasdaq joined the S&P 500 index in record territory for the first time in over two years, writes Ian Slattery.
19/02/2024 | Zurich Ireland
Market volatility amidst inflation data
On Tuesday, the latest US Consumer Price Index (CPI) data was released, coming in hotter than expected, writes Ian Slattery.
12/02/2024 | Zurich Ireland
Markets grind higher in quiet trading week
It was a relatively quiet week in the markets, with activity across the main asset classes remaining muted, writes Ian Slattery.
06/02/2024 | Zurich Ireland
Stocks finely poised as Fed continues balancing act
On Thursday, the Federal Reserve kept interest rates steady for the fourth consecutive meeting, writes Ian Slattery.
22/01/2024 | Zurich Ireland
US consumer sentiment at highest since 2021
US stocks showed a narrow gain last week as performance was mixed due to changing sentiment amongst investors, writes Ian Slattery.
15/01/2024 | Zurich Ireland
President Lagarde: The hardest part is behind us
Last week saw US stocks return to positive territory after a slow start to the year. Although a relatively quiet week for economic data, Thursday saw the release of the US consumer price index (CPI), which came in slightly hotter than expected, writes Ian Slattery.
08/01/2024 | Zurich Ireland
Markets have lacklustre start to the year
Markets ended the first week of 2024 in negative territory as stocks gave back some of the gains from December, writes Ian Slattery.
02/01/2024 | Zurich Ireland
Markets optimistic into the new year
As 2023 drew in to a close, most major indices were in positive territory following a holiday shortened week, writes Ian Slattery.
06/11/2023 | Zurich Ireland
Stocks rally on cooler data
Last week saw US equities rally as interest rate expectations eased and the labour market appeared to cool, writes Ian Slattery.
31/10/2023 | Zurich Ireland
ECB leaves key interest rate unchanged
Last week saw US stocks finish lower for the second week in a row as bond yields moved higher and investor sentiment declined, writes Ian Slattery.
23/10/2023 | Zurich Ireland
Markets falter amidst rate concerns and geopolitical risk
Last week saw markets decline as a combination of forces affected investor sentiment. As the situation in the Middle East deteriorates, millions of lives have been put at risk. Globally, concern has risen as a result, writes Ian Slattery.
02/10/2023 | Zurich Ireland
Equities slip on subsiding ‘soft landing’ expectations
Equities slipped once again last week as the ‘soft landing’ narrative was challenged in the face of some weak economic data, writes Ian Slattery.
25/09/2023 | Zurich Ireland
Markets lower as US rates to be higher for longer
The Federal Reserve kept the key interest rate in the 5.25%-5.50% following their two-day meeting last week, writes Ian Slattery. Whilst the move (or lack thereof) was in line with market expectations the post meeting press conference was seen as relatively hawkish by market participants.
18/09/2023 | Zurich Ireland
Markets take latest ECB hike in their stride
The ECB raised rates by 0.25% on Thursday afternoon, which brought the headline deposit rate to a new historic high of 4.0%, writes Ian Slattery.
11/09/2023 | Zurich Ireland
Stocks slide on interest rate fears
Equity markets ended the week down as slowing investors revaluated the potential interest rate environment, writes Ian Slattery.
04/09/2023 | Zurich Ireland
Equities positive on cooler jobs data
Last week saw US equities show positive returns after a shaky August, showing their biggest weekly gain in over five weeks, writes Ian Slattery.
28/08/2023 | Zurich Ireland
Chairman Powell stays the course at Jackson Hole
Friday closed out a mixed week for equities as investors digested comments from this year’s Jackson Hole Symposium, writes Ian Slattery.
21/08/2023 | Zurich Ireland
Equities lag on resilient demand
Last week saw US equities post their worst performance in several months as investors revaluated the prospects for higher interest rates for longer, due to resilient economic data, writes Ian Slattery.
14/08/2023 | Zurich Ireland
Varied economic data sees equities pause
US equities showed mixed performance last week as in the month of August markets have broken their upward track seen throughout much of 2023, writes Ian Slattery.
31/07/2023 | Zurich Ireland
Markets positive as US economic outlook improves
Last week saw several major central banks deliver interest rate decisions. In the US, the Federal Reserve increased rates by 0.25% to a range of 5.25%- 5.50%, writes Ian Slattery.
24/07/2023 | Zurich Ireland
Equities see gains as sentiment improves
US Stocks continued to march higher last week, returning 1.3% in Euro terms as investors priced in the likelihood of a ‘soft landing’ for the US economy, writes Ian Slattery.
17/07/2023 | Zurich Ireland
Cooler US inflation sees equities rally
Last week saw US equities finish positively as data suggested a cooling of inflation. On Wednesday, the release of consumer price index (CPI) data, saw markets enter a ‘risk-on’ session in the US, writes Ian Slattery.
10/07/2023 | Zurich Ireland
Equities slow on interest rate fears
Last week saw US equities down -1.6% in euro terms as strong data in the US jobs market led many to anticipate further action from the Federal Reserve, writes Ian Slattery.
03/07/2023 | Zurich Ireland
Tech stocks outperform in first half of 2023
US stocks ended the midpoint of 2023 on a positive note as improved macroeconomic data saw US stocks rally, writes Ian Slattery.
26/06/2023 | Zurich Ireland
Stocks edge lower on rate expectations
Last week saw US equities have their poorest performance since the March banking turmoil, as investor sentiment lowered on recession fears, writes Ian Slattery.
12/06/2023 | Zurich Ireland
US stocks enter bull market
Last week saw US stocks officially enter bull market territory as a weighted index of the top 500 US companies reached 20% above October lows, with sentiment broadly higher as a result, writes Ian Slattery.
06/06/2023 | Zurich Ireland
US stocks rise on strong economic data
Last week saw US stocks reach their highest level in 2023 as economic indicators surprised to the upside, writes Ian Slattery.
29/05/2023 | Zurich Ireland
Stocks post gains as Washington moves closer to debt ceiling agreement
US equities finished the week on a positive note as news of a potential deal between Republicans and Democrats regarding the US debt ceiling filtered through to markets, writes Ian Slattery.
15/05/2023 | Zurich Ireland
Lower US inflation print softens policy expectations
Last week saw choppy trading in the US as investor sentiment was uncertain over the economic outlook, writes Ian Slattery.
08/05/2023 | Zurich Ireland
Central Bank’s raise rates in whipsaw week for equities
Last week saw somewhat of a puzzling week for investors with interest rates raised by 25 basis points, writes Ian Slattery.
02/05/2023 | Zurich Ireland
Big tech leads Q1 earnings
The busiest week of Q1 earnings season saw technology companies post better than expected reports for the first quarter of 2023, writes Ian Slattery.
24/04/2023 | Zurich Ireland
Investors restrained after mixed corporate earnings
Last week saw US equities down slightly, returning -1.0% in euro terms on the back of mixed corporate earnings reports, writes Ian Slattery.
24/04/2023 | Zurich Ireland
Equities climb despite banking sector turmoil
In this investment podcast recorded on 12 April 2023, we cover recent market movements and Zurich Investments current positioning and outlook. This month we also talk about earnings season, which we hear a lot about in the financial media, we’ll discuss what it is and what it means for you as an investor.
17/04/2023 | Zurich Ireland
Earnings season opens on positive note
The Q1 earnings season began with some positive surprises for investors last week as US financial companies appeared to beat expectations despite taking a hammering last month, writes Ian Slattery.
11/04/2023 | Zurich Ireland
Labour market shows signs of cooling
Last week saw US stocks end down slightly in a holiday shortened week. Treasury yields dipped lower after weak economic data was released throughout the period, writes Ian Slattery.
28/03/2023 | Zurich Ireland
Stocks hold up amidst bank sector uncertainty
Last week saw the Federal Reserve move forward with a quarter-point (0.25%) interest rate rise, despite speculation that recent instability in the banking sector would cause the Fed to pull back on its current policy trajectory, writes Ian Slattery.
22/03/2023 | Zurich Ireland
Positive investor sentiment pulls back
In this investment podcast recorded on March 14th 2023, we speak about recent market movements and Zurich Investments current positioning and outlook. This month we also speak about inflation, what it is and what it means for investors.
20/03/2023 | Zurich Ireland
Banking sector failings take the spotlight
US equities had an uneasy week amid speculation about global banking stability. Despite this, the US Index produced gains for investors returning 1.9% in euro terms, writes Ian Slattery.
13/03/2023 | Zurich Ireland
Equities lower after volatile week of trading
Last week saw a choppy period for US equities as the tech-orientated and California-based Silicon Valley Bank went into receivership, writes Ian Slattery.
06/03/2023 | Zurich Ireland
Stocks end the week up despite tight jobs market
A three-week losing streak came to an end for US stocks last week as US equities returned euro investors 1.7% despite economic indicators suggesting a persistently tight labour market, writes Ian Slattery.
20/02/2023 | Zurich Ireland
Inflation lowers but remains persistent
Last week saw the release of US inflation figures for the month of January, writes Ian Slattery.
13/02/2023 | Zurich Ireland
US stocks pare gains as earnings forecasts slow
Last week saw a more cautious approach to US equities as concern over Federal Reserve policy and discouraging corporate earnings caused equities in the US to retreat from their recent gains, writes Ian Slattery.
07/02/2023 | Zurich Ireland
Markets move higher amid rate rises
US equities posted further gains last week, finishing the week up 2.1% in euro terms, writes Ian Slattery.