The 4th quarter of 2017 was filled with a lot of green across the performance scoreboard as it capped a great year for risk assets in general, global equities in particular. The news cycle was not disappointing either as it produced a constant stream of attention grabbing highlights on what seemed to be a daily basis. Financial markets saw new highs (equities), new lows (volatility), continued firsts (European BBB corporates selling at negative yields), mania (cryptoassets) and a global shift in tone from the central banks. Equity bears have become an endangered species with the advent of what appears to be a synchronized reawakening of growth across the major economies and a bull market that has the resilience of a tardigrade. Volatility traders could also be added to the endangered species list because you can't trade what isn't there.

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