Gold Magazine January - February 2014, Issue 34 | Page 17

S

o how was 2013? A quick
look at the numbers suggests
that for anyone buying shares
on any of the world’s leading
stock exchanges it could hardly have been better. In the
United States, the Dow Jones
Industrial Average ended the
year up 22%, the S&P 500
gained 25% and the Nasdaq
rose by 33%. In Europe, the
FTSE was up by 10% and the Dax 22% higher.
Even Greece rose 27%. And while we can doubtless
consider Venezuela’s 452% gain a complete anomaly,
Japan saw a 58% rise in the Nikkei. So if the major
share indices are anything to
go by, it would appear that
we can finally draw a line
under the global financial
crisis: it started in 2008 and
ended in 2013…
Although the world is
eager to say goodbye to
five bad years, are things
really that simple? Undoubtedly not. Although US stock
markets have been buoyed
by the smooth and steady
launch of the Federal Reserve’s so-called ‘tapering’ of its Quantitative Easing
programme and its commitment to continuing monetary easing “until the outlook for the labour market
has improved substantially in a context of price stability,” the road to high employment, low inflation
and financial stability is a long one and it may not be
particularly smooth.
For the countries of the eurozone, the picture is
even less clear. Latvia has given the euro a vote of
confidence by becoming the 18th member to adopt
the common currency and Ireland has officially exited the Troika’s programme but here in Cyprus you
will be hard pushed to find a great deal of optimism
for the coming 12 months. This is not to say that
investors will stay away. Elsewhere in this issue of
Gold, you can read about what a new publication
entitled Crisis Investing in Cyprus has to say about the
opportunities for savvy investors. Moreover, positive
stories continue to emerge – albeit sporadically – re-

garding investment in property and other companies
on the island.
It is also a fact that many of the investment firms
based in Cyprus are paying little attention to what is
happening here as they advise their wealthy clients to
make the most of the wealth and assets.
To gain a clearer picture of what 2014 holds for
investors from a Cyprus-based standpoint, we invited
four financial experts to share their knowledge and
advice with us: Evgenios Antoniou, Head of Asset
Management, CISCO; Loucas Marangos, CEO,
TFI Markets; Demetris Taxitaris ACA, Managing
Director, Symmetria F.S. Ltd and Nicolas Theocharides, CEO and Managing Director, UPM Ltd.
were asked to express their views on the investment
potential of the main asset classes
(Equities, Bonds, Commodities,
Alternative Investments and Cash).
Regarding Equities and Bonds, they
were requested to comment on them
from a regional perspective too (US,
eurozone, UK, Japan, emerging
markets, etc.) Finally, we asked for
a brief summary of how they viewed
2013 from the investor’s standpoint
and for their forecasts as regards the
coming year. Together with these
ideas and views, we have selected
some interesting ones from international commentators and companies to fill out the
picture.
To those who may feel that Cyprus in 2014 is
neither the place nor the time to be discussing where
wealthy individuals and firms will be putting their
money, given the fact that austerity measures are likely to be felt even more strongly by most of the population, we would simply note what everyone directly
involved in the economy, starting with the President,
has been saying for the past nine months: investment
is essential if Cyprus is to restore its standard of living, its reputation and its key professional services
sector. Yes, we need inward investment for this but
we also need to ensure that those using Cyprus for
their own investment and tax planning purposes keep
faith in the island’s institutions, and in its public and
private sectors. The man in the street may have little cash to invest but now we are all investing in the
country’s future.

ALTHOUGH THE
WORLD IS EAGER
TO SAY GOODBYE
TO FIVE BAD YEARS,
ARE THINGS REALLY
THAT SIMPLE?
UNDOUBTEDLY NOT.

THE INTERNATIONAL INVESTMENT, FINANCE & PROFESSIONAL SERVICES MAGAZINE OF CYPRUS

cover_story.indd 17

Gold 17

08/01/2014 16:42