As the summer holidays draw to a close, global markets have largely enjoyed a period of calm and steady performance. Volatility remained subdued through much of the season, with equity markets delivering solid gains, particularly in the US. That said, the rally was notably narrow in scope – dominated by a handful of mega-cap technology stocks rather than broad-based economic strength. With autumn on the horizon, we provide a formal review of the macroeconomic landscape and outline M&M’s perspective for the coming months.

For years, active investing has been pronounced dead by passive evangelists, robo-platforms, and the odd ETF sales deck. And yet… here we are in 2025, and active managers still exist. More to the point, they’re still being chosen — not just by private investors, but by thoughtful financial planning firms building outcomes-focused portfolios.

We’re only 25 years into the 21st century, but we’ve already witnessed an impressive parade of economic upheaval: two major market crashes, a global banking collapse, a pandemic, meme-stock mania, crypto rollercoasters, and a bout of inflation that finally got central bankers moving again.