Last year was a roller coaster ride for markets and we’re preparing for 2022 to be every bit as eventful, particularly from an investor's perspective. There are three key factors that will influence financial markets and the investments our investment managers may look to make. These are economic growth, inflation and interest rates.
The world continues to be in a state of flux, so things are likely to move in different directions at different times throughout the year. This creates uncertainty for investors who will be closely watching the likely directions of travel of these three variables.
As the world works its way through these uncertainties, it would be reasonable to expect a higher level of volatility in markets over the shorter term but our outlook for markets remains positive over the medium term.
To help shape our view of the long term and guide our approach to investing over the year ahead, we've identified five key issues we think are going to determine the outlook for economic growth, inflation and interest rates. Over the next few pages you’ll get a better understanding of these five themes.
