Global equity markets closed the quarter with a total return of 5.6 percent, as measured by the MSCI World Index. The bulk of the quarter’s gains came in October, followed by declines in both November and December.

Global infrastructure securities trailed the MSCI World Index during the period, based on returns of the Dow Jones Brookfield Global Infrastructure Composite Index, which returned –1.6 percent. By region, the Americas (–6.2 percent) posted the largest decline, followed by Europe (–0.2 percent), while Asia rose 7.4 percent. Six of eight sectors were positive in the quarter, while the Oil & Gas Storage & Transportation sector weighed on the overall index (–10.7 percent), as did Ports (–3.2 percent). Master Limited Partnerships struggled from the drop in oil prices, returning –5.1 percent for the quarter.

We enter 2016 with a more cautious outlook on the global macroeconomic environment. While the employment numbers remain strong in the Un