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The good fortune of high productivity growth and a surge in available labor has propelled the U.S. economy, while other economies have been less lucky. A key risk to the U.S. outlook is the potential waning of the positive supply-side factors, though expansionary fiscal policy may cushion any negative impact on growth as the era of sound money lives on.

Emerging markets (EMs) remain an efficient gateway to powerful secular themes, from technology-driven transformations to consumer growth stories. However, expectations of higher U.S. interest rates and a stronger dollar are likely to challenge EM currencies and investor sentiment in 2025, and the 2024 U.S. election introduced a new layer of uncertainty. While EMs present a landscape of opportunity amid increasing macroeconomic headwinds, investors should be prepared for uneven outcomes across regions.

The private credit asset class has developed and evolved significantly since the Global Financial Crisis. Accounting for $1.6 trillion across a wide range of risk and return profiles, it is cementing its importance and value in investor portfolios. This paper by Cambridge Associates describes why private credit can be attractive in any market, outlines the various sub-asset classes, and discusses the construction of a private credit portfolio and its implementation into a portfolio.

More than $80 trillion of wealth is expected to be transferred within families over the next two decades. Given the rise in wealth and aging populations globally, the number of family offices has surged to help guide succession planning and the transfer of assets. This brief outlook by Asset Consulting Group further highlights the investing trends impacting the path forward for families and family offices that is shifting as the next generation potentially reorients family goals toward qualitative objections (mission-driven) in addition to quantitative metrics (investment returns).

The 2024 U.S. Presidential election is set as a rematch between current President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump. Each candidate’s fiscal priorities have already been on display in their first terms and give insight into second-term agendas. This brief outlook by Asset Consulting Group compares their track records and the market impact, including the growing borrowing costs for the treasury that are putting a greater burden on the federal budget.

For most of the period from the Global Financial Crisis in 2008 through the end of the COVID pandemic in 2022, the Federal Reserve held interest rates near zero. As post-pandemic inflation surged in early 2022, the Federal Reserve began a rapid rate-hike cycle that ended in July 2023 with the Federal Funds Rate at 5.25% - 5.50%. As noted in this Investment Report, the yields above 5% attracted investors to money market funds as total assets grew approximately 20% in 2023 to more than $6 trillion.

The uneven historic GDP growth, deflation, and low corporate productivity have made Japan a tough market for investors. But given the strong performance in 2023, the Japanese market is changing. Starting with Abenomics more than a decade ago and the more recent initiatives by Japanese stock exchanges, the tangible changes in Japan are attracting investors once again.