After a spectacular year for the stock markets in 2019, the first two months of 2020 started off promisingly. In fact, the S&P 500 index hit an all-time high on February 19. But developments over the past weeks – mounting coronavirus cases across the world and the split between key oil producers Russia and Saudi Arabia – have sent stocks on a dizzying roller-coaster ride. 

So how did Syfe’s automated risk managed investing (ARI) algorithm deal with the wild market swings? The chart below offers some insight. It illustrates that the recent increase in market volatility (blue line) occurred abruptly, shooting up quickly from previously low levels in a matter of days. The sustained increase in volatility during the initial days of the market drop from 19 to 25 February further indicated that market risks will remain high in the near future. As such, our ARI algorithm adjusted asset allocations