There has been a noticeable gap between Eurozone and UK equities this month. While Eurozone equity markets returned just over 3% in January, UK equities remained relatively flat to begin before declining to a 2% loss by the end of the month. Outside of Europe, most equity markets made a positive start to the year. £ Sterling had a strong January, making up ground against all the major currencies. January has seen a continuation of the historically low realised volatility levels seen in 2017 well below their historical average levels.