In his latest COVID-19 & Market Update, CEO Mario Giannini shares his thoughts on how the vaccination process is being handled worldwide and outlines the latest ripple effects across the public and private markets.
Key Takeaways:
- I’ll go out on a limb here: We will find the new variants may be more contagious, but they will not be deadlier and they will not be resistant to vaccines. To the extent any variant does have somewhat more resistance, we will develop boosters that improve vaccine efficacy. (p. 2)
- Is it impossible to vaccinate quickly? It’s not. Israel, in less than a month, has vaccinated a quarter of its population and has indicated that everyone over the age of 16 will be vaccinated by the end of March. It is an exceptionally impressive achievement. (p. 4)
- Here’s a prediction: There will be enough vaccine supply in much of the world by the April- to- July time frame. Places like the U.S., most of Europe, large parts of Asia, will have reached a majority of their populations at that point. (p. 5)
- The U.S. markets have always assumed gridlock in Washington, D.C. was good for stock prices. The corollary is that it has empowered the occupant of the White House over time and that may or may not be good for stock prices longer-term. (p. 7)
- Value-focused GPs are much more upbeat than they were a few weeks ago. Portfolios are generally holding up through the new COVID waves and the cost savings achieved are sustainable at the lower revenue numbers. GPs are also getting more bullish that they can retain some of the margin improvement when they go back to 2019 revenue levels. Lastly, they are seeing more opportunities, particularly sector specialists. (p. 8)