CIO Insights: Reality Check 2018, The Investment Landscape Ahead

Moving into 2018 there is a need to prepare for a subtly changing investment environment. It is time for a comprehensive reality check, and the Ten Themes for 2018 can help you understand the opportunities and risks ahead. We think that we will see another year of positive, if generally rather lower, investment returns. Beginning with theme number 1—forewarned is forearmed—we believe that you should be prepared, at the very least, for higher levels of volatility.

Looking further into the second quarter, the overall Ten Themes are supported, with separate macroeconomic and asset class analysis and forecasts where investors may see the current situation as a glass half-full, presenting many opportunities, or half-empty, presaging a downtown. Whichever way, tremors from uncertainty are creating ripples on the water's surface.