Q3 saw positive developments in a number of COVID-19 vaccination trials, cooling of US-China trade tensions, and Jerome Powell’s announcement of a more flexible approach to the Federal Reserve’s inflation targeting at the annual Jackson Hole symposium. This supported risk-on sentiment for most of the summer until renewed concerns about rising COVID-19 cases saw sentiment shift early in September. Markets quickly fell back, while volatility ticked up sharply and by the end of the quarter, many countries had re-implemented certain social distancing measures.