Investing is supposed to be “like watching paint dry or watching grass grow”, according to legendary economist Paul Samuelson. He would have approved of 2019. US-China trade negotiations generate more heat than light; the slide towards a global recession is so slow, some argue it is not happening at all; and fund managers holding their breath for Brexit have long since turned blue.

Most asset managers do not have the luxury of waiting to exhale — particularly with an election looming in the US, and likely in the UK, too. And there are always macroeconomic volcanoes threatening to erupt, destroying seemingly safe and risky bets alike.