Funds

The past year has not smiled on forecasters. Making predictions about 2021 therefore demands even more humility than usual.

“The only certainty is uncertainty,” is a well-known idiom. This philosophy is especially relevant right now as the global spread of COVID-19 triggers unprecedented economic disruption and market volatility.

Developments in the United States with Biden’s presidency, and the status of the COVID-19 vaccine globally, will have a key influence on markets in 2021.

Dinesh Kuhadas from Janus Henderson highlights how the provisions put in place in the wake of the GFC, along with an unprecedented response from policy makers has built a resilient banking sector in Australia.

After four days of counting, the United States have a new President-elect in Joe Biden. However, it doesn’t look like the Democrats will be able to take control of the Senate, and so the market is preparing for a gridlock scenario.

Could a change of president be the precursor for change in the fortunes of emerging markets?

Investors looking for signs of an eventual return to normal from the coronavirus crisis have no shortage of signals to track.

As markets start to look through the US elections, the longer-term focus is on the US domestic economy, regionalisation of global trade, and the resilience of emerging and Asian markets.

The past year has seen major shifts in Australia’s property markets, but not in our attitudes to property.

Phil Strano, Portfolio Manager of the Yarra Absolute Credit Strategy, details why he believes the post-pandemic recovery shaping up well for Australian credit investors.

While it remains quite possible that this election will take longer to be formally resolved than most others, financial markets will approach this probabilistically, as ever, and won’t wait for every detail to be formally verified

A 30% collapse, a dramatic comeback and new all-time highs; we look back at a remarkable 2020 for US shares amid a global pandemic, an economic collapse and a looming presidential election.

What has happened?

In this most unpredictable of years, is today the point of maximum uncertainty? As you read these words, the list of things we don’t yet have an answer to is long and daunting.

It would not be unfair to say that this has been a challenging year. Consider a global pandemic, economic devastation from the shut-down of a global economy, the deepest recession since the 1930s and record highs for the U.S. equity market. Throw in the upcoming and well documented U.S. election and the uncertainty investors are facing alongside market volatility is almost unprecedented.

Today, there is an undisputed infrastructure investment gap right around the world – as evidenced by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) regular reporting on the state of US infrastructure which has averaged grade D (meaning Poor, At Risk) since 1998.