Video: Investment Team 2018 Outlook
Please note this blog post was published over 12 months ago and so may not include the most up-to-date information, for example where regulation around investing has changed.
Julius Poliakas, Investment Analyst at True Potential Investor, presents our Investment Team 2017 retrospective and 2018 outlook.
Hello, my name is Julius Poliakas and I am an Investment Analyst at True Potential.
I am going to spend the next few minutes taking a view of what happened last year and give you a brief outlook for the year ahead.
Markets had a good year in 2017 and investors continue to be rewarded for investing in risk assets.
Last year investors looked through the political noise. Uncertainties, such as, ‘America First’ trade reforms from US President Donald Trump, the rise of populism in Europe, uncertainty in North Korea and of course Brexit negotiations, had little real impact on investments. Price volatility remained at low levels by historic standards and stock markets pushed to new highs.
However, the fact that the world’s major economies are all enjoying synchronised growth allowed investors to brush off these concerns and global equity markets ended the year up 23%.
Looking at the key themes which are formulated after speaking to our 8 world-class manager partners, economic outlook continues to remain positive and attention remains focussed on the central banks and their monetary policy decisions.
There is a general recognition that we are “late cycle” but this viewpoint is not particularly well defined or indeed quantified. The general opinion appears to be that economic growth will continue next year and could be higher than anticipated if we see positive results from the implementation of US tax cuts.
With interest rates edging higher, our managers are more positive on equities than bonds, with a feeling that equity markets can withstand a rise in US bond yields. At a level up to 3% on the US 10 year bond they see this as a ‘goldilocks’ environment with decent growth, modest inflation and benign interest rates.
In conclusion, if we think back, markets have been exceptionally resilient over the past few years in the face of many uncertain events.
Finally let me wish you a happy and prosperous new year. And thank you for listening.
