Valuable investing: balance of financial and social returns

September was a good month for investments. Emerging markets in particular stood out in a positive sense. Meanwhile, capital market interest rates fell slightly. This means that bond investors can also look back on a reasonably successful September.

Last month was relatively calm on the financial markets. Given the many geopolitical flashpoints around the world, policy uncertainty in the US, and the relatively weak economic outlook, this is quite remarkable.

July promised to be an exciting month for financial markets, but they appeared largely unaffected by ongoing geopolitical and trade tensions. However, uncertainty did increase towards the end of the month, in the run-up to President Trump's August 1 deadline for trade deals.