🏆    Another Benchmark Beating Month for TPP.    🏆

TPP posted another solid month in August, with the average trading strategy increasing portfolios by 2.96%.

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August delivered a fairly solid performance across most major asset classes, with global equities represented by the MSCI All-Country World Index advancing 2.5% for the month, while the Bloomberg Global Aggregate bond index posted gains of 1.5%. The All-Country was lifted by strong gains in Japan and the US, with Europe lagging sadly behind.

Corporate earnings continued to flow in from the second quarter, highlighted by Nvidia's results, which exceeded overall sales and profit expectations despite falling short on data centre revenue forecasts. Across the broader market, corporate profits substantially surpassed analysts' conservative estimates.

The most significant market catalyst emerged from July's US non-farm payrolls data, which pointed to a cooling labour market and prompted Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to acknowledge at the Jackson Hole symposium that the balance of economic risks had shifted. This dovish pivot led markets to price in a strong probability of a 25 basis point rate reduction at the Fed's September meeting. Political tensions around central bank independence intensified when President Trump dismissed the head of the Bureau of Labour Statistics following the weak employment report, and later attempted to remove Lisa Cook from the Fed's Board of Governors. Markets responded with modest Treasury yield increases and dollar weakness, though the ultimate fate of Cook's position remains in the hands of the courts.

European markets faced their own political uncertainties as France's prime minister scheduled a no-confidence vote for September 8th after failing to secure support for budget cuts. With parties holding a parliamentary majority pledging to vote against the government, French markets experienced notable volatility. Trade tensions remained relatively subdued compared to recent months, though the US implemented higher reciprocal tariff rates in early August and later imposed a50% tariff on India to discourage Russian oil purchases. Commodity markets saw oil and natural gas prices decline while gold continued its upward trajectory.

British equities struggled with the FTSE All-Share gaining just 0.9%, underperforming amid domestic headwinds. Inflation data for July exceeded expectations, and despite cutting rates by 25 basis points, the Bank of England adopted a relatively hawkish stance at its August meeting. This led investors to moderate expectations for future rate cuts throughout 2025, even as the UK jobs market showed signs of weakening.

Continental European equities fared better with the MSCI Europe ex-UK index rising 1.2%, supported by resilient economic data, including a eurozone composite PMI reading of 51.1 driven by manufacturing improvements and sustained loan growth in July. However, French political uncertainty weighed on the broader index, with French companies representing roughly one-fifth of the index's market capitalisation. The CAC 40fell 0.9% as political instability mounted.

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US equities demonstrated resilience with the S&P 500 advancing 2.0% despite mid-month volatility triggered by downward revisions to prior payroll figures and an MIT report questioning the revenue impact of artificial intelligence initiatives. Strong second-quarter earnings provided support, with approximately three-quarters of S&P 500companies beating modest forecasts by the largest margin since 2021. The August PMI survey reinforced this positive sentiment, particularly in manufacturing, while the administration's announcement of a planned 10% stake acquisition in Intel aimed at bolstering domestic semiconductor capabilities added further momentum.

Emerging markets posted solid gains with the MSCI Emerging Markets index up 1.5%, primarily driven by Chinese market strength. The extension of the US-China trade truce until November 10thbenefited export-oriented companies, while China's commitment to triple domestic chip supply by 2026 boosted technology stocks. However, tax reforms pressured South Korean equities, and Indian markets faced challenges from the new US tariff measures.

Fixed income markets reflected the varied regional dynamics, with UK Gilts under continued pressure following another inflation surprise. Investors scaled back Bank of England rate cut expectations, pushing short-term Gilt yields higher while longer-dated bonds also struggled. The UK 30-year government bond yield reached 5.6%, its highest level since 1998, amid thin liquidity and persistent concerns about fiscal sustainability.

French government bonds underperformed as political turbulence raised questions about the country's ability to achieve fiscal consolidation. The potential government collapse would force President Macron to either select a new prime minister or call fresh elections, further complicating efforts to address the nation's near 6% deficit. While fiscal challenges span multiple European countries, France's situation stands out for its scale and lack of credible reduction plans.

US Treasuries ended the month with a0.9% gain, primarily driven by Powell's Jackson Hole remarks suggesting shifting economic risks following subdued inflation and revised employment data. This dovish tone increased expectations for September rate cuts and a lower terminal rate, causing the yield curve to steepen as near-term yields fell while longer-dated bonds faced selling pressure amid growing concerns about Federal Reserve independence.

The longer-term fixed income picture remains sobering, with the Bloomberg Government Bond index showing global bonds still down 13.1% since the end of 2020, serving as a reminder that recent losses continue to weigh on total returns. UK Gilts have fared particularly poorly over this period, declining 30.9% as successive governments have struggled with credibility issues. This performance serves as a stark indicator of market confidence in UK fiscal management, painting an unflattering picture of the nation's financial stewardship.

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The world of Wealth Management is stale and limited. They don’t know the markets like you think they do. They take your money and simply place it online into multiple funds created by multiple institutions, and just hope that others know the market better than they do.

If markets fall, it’s not their fault. If they rise, they take the credit. Add this to the fact that around 80% of fund managers fail to beat a simple index fund, and the chances of your capital outperforming in any given year are close to none.

That is why we built TPP, a platform designed to allow retail investors the opportunity to build a portfolio using a mix of active and passive investment strategies. Multi-strategy, multi-asset and diversified.

We have professional traders actively managing the portfolio using tried and tested methods with one single goal in mind: to beat benchmarks and make you money.

We want your capital to grow, and all we want in return is£85 per month per investment strategy. There are no extra fees. No fee to enter the market, no fee to exit the market and no extra performance fees. We know that it costs nothing to liquidate positions and return your capital to you when you need it, so why would we charge for this? Others do.

Ask your current manager what their fees are and see if they say the same. There is no ‘administration’ cost to get into the market, or out of it. Our portfolios are all so transparent, you can see exactly what you’re invested in live at all times via our dashboard.

We are revolutionising the investment landscape with the client at the heart of our vision.

Don’t just take our word for it though. Check out this month's list of the trading strategies that beat the MSCI All Countries Equity Index for August. Some beat by a large margin, some have been solid and constantly beating it every month.

We ask one thing of our traders and portfolio managers, and that is to beat their benchmark over the course of the year, and 2025 is proving to be another fantastic year for TPP.

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The FTSE All-Share gained just 0.9% in the same time while the French CAC actually lost money. Nobody knows which index will go up the most in any given month. This month, Japan performed, but who invested are you in Japanese equities? Are you longer French equities than you are Japanese? You probably don’t know.

On our platform you can see exactly what you’re invested in at all times. It is actively traded with the aim of maximising your return each and every month.

Check out the live and historic performances of all our investment strategies here.

For more information, please do get in touch. One of our portfolio managers would be happy to speak to you and talk you through how you can build your own TPP portfolio, designed to weather the markets, and provide you, the investor, with exactly what you’re looking for.

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Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and should not be considered to render any legal, business or financial advice. Opinions and estimates offered constitute our judgment and are subject to change without notice, as are statements of financial market trends, which are based on current market conditions.

This material is not intended as an offer or solicitation for the purchase or sale of any financial instrument. This material has been prepared for informational purposes only.

Past performance may not be indicative of future results. Therefore, you should not assume that the future performance of any specific investment or investment strategy will be profitable or equal to the corresponding past performance.

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