News of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine sent a shockwave to the market before it staged a rebound. Russia had first sent troops in to two separatist regions, Donetsk and Lugansk, which Russia considers to be independent from Ukraine, on 22nd February 2022; and launched a ferocious full-scale invasion two days later.  

Russia had taken offence at Ukraine’s bid to be part of the European Union (EU) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and moved to stop it.

We think that Russia was clear of the risks and rewards of this strategy and they are prepared for the sanctions which might most probably hurt the Eurozone more than Russia.

What prompted Russia’s move?

Tensions had been running high between Russia and Ukraine since 2014 when Russia annexed Crimea.

On the other hand, the Russian government also feared that Ukraine’s membership in the EU and NATO will “complete a Western wall of allied countries” united against it by restricting Russia’s access to the Black Sea1. Moscow would only be about 500km away from the nearest allied country.

NATO was established to create a military alliance that would be a counterweight to Soviet armies stationed in Central and Eastern Europe after World War II.

Thus NATO’s eastward expansion allows NATO to place forces and weapons in closer range to Moscow, and Russia views NATO’s intention to offer Ukraine membership as a hostile act, even though Ukraine is much weaker in terms of military prowess.

What are Russia’s requests?

As Russia perceived the above as threats to national security, they are requesting for:

  1. NATO’s guarantee that Ukraine will never be allowed to join NATO





  2. NATO to move forces and weapons out of the allied countries that joined after 1997, as well as refrain from deploying troops to these areas
  1. NATO to reinstate the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty

This treaty was signed in 1987 between the US and the Soviet Union which banned all land-based missiles of the particular range in the two countries. By May 1991, 2,692 missiles from both countries had been destroyed1.

However, US President Donald Trump announced in 2018 that he was withdrawing from the Treaty due to supposed Russian non-compliance amidst the continuing growth of China’s missile forces. And the US formally withdrew from the Treaty in August 20191.

  1. The US and Ukraine to follow through on the Minsk Agreements signed in 2014 and 2015, as well as autonomy to be granted to eastern Ukraine

These agreements were designed to end a war by Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine, and its provisions included prisoner exchanges, withdrawal of heavy weapons, and deliveries of humanitarian aid. However, many had remained unimplemented due to a major impasse – Russia insisted that it was not a party to the conflict and therefore not bound by its terms2 – one of the points had called for a withdrawal of all foreign forces from Donetsk and Luhansk, and Ukraine said this referred to Russian forces, but Moscow had denied that there were any of their forces in the region.

Impact of sanctions

Europe also depends on Russia for about 46% of coal imports, 38% of natural gas imports and 27% of oil imports – and sanctions will probably further fuel inflation in Europe.

Brent oil had surged past $100 per barrel3 - the first time it did so since 2014.

And since 2014 when the sanctions were placed on Russia, Russia had also built up their gold and forex reserves and developed their own financial alternatives to global payment networks such as SWIFT, Visa and Mastercard. Their banks and companies had also reduced dependence on the global debt market.

Russia had been building up its financial shield to be more resilient against possible sanctions while Europe's energy needs remain dependent on Russia. This meant that sanctions could impact Europe more than Russia.

Is it an opportunity or an adversity?

Looking back at the major conflicts over the years, i.e. the Gulf War, the Iraq War, and the 9/11 attacks, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA), representing the US market, had corrected between 6 - 16% when they broke out, and usually recovered between 1-8 months.

And through the periods of military conflicts (inclusive), the DJIA has increased 600% over the 30 years.

Unfortunately, wars cause insufferable pain and had also roiled the market in the short-term.

They, however, did not alter the existing economic situations, and would usually create a window of opportunity to invest. Hence, our existing strategy of “1-step back, 3-steps forward” enacted prior to this war and the window of opportunity remain intact, except it may mean a greater opportunity in the initial period if this war exacerbates the decline in stock prices.

And we think that we are hedged well as the safe haven asset classes in our portfolio rise while the equity markets fall. It’d also be an opportunity to pick up the good buys especially with regular monthly investments as the market gets more volatile, and lump sum investments as the equity markets correct. Do strategise as soon with your Unicorn Financial Consultant.

 

 

Sources:

1.Wikipedia

2.Reuters

3.Bloomberg

 

 

Important Notice

The information herein is published by Unicorn Financial Solutions Pte. Limited. (“Unicorn”) and is for information only. This publication is intended for Unicorn and its clients or prospective clients to whom it has been delivered and may not be reproduced or transmitted to any other person without the prior permission of Unicorn. The information and opinions contained in this publication has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable but Unicorn does not make any representation or warranty as to its adequacy, completeness, accuracy or timeliness for any particular purpose. Opinions and estimates are subject to change without notice. Any past performance, projection, forecast or simulation of results is not necessarily indicative of the future or likely performance of any investment. Unicorn accepts no liability whatsoever for any direct indirect or consequential losses or damages arising from or in connection with the use or reliance of this publication or its contents. The information herein is not intended for distribution to, or use by, any person or entity in any jurisdiction or country where such distribution or use would be contrary to law or regulation. If this publication has been distributed by electronic transmission, such as e-mail, then such transmission cannot be guaranteed to be secure or error free as information could be intercepted, corrupted, lost, destroyed, arrive late or incomplete, or contain viruses. Unicorn does not accept liability for any errors or omissions in the contents of this publication, which may arise as a result of electronic transmission. This advertisement has not been reviewed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore.

Unicorn Financial Solutions Pte. Limited Reg. No.: 200501540R

PDF Version