By Zehrid Osmani, Head of Global Long Term Unconstrained Equities, Senior Portfolio Manager
We believe that economic momentum should remain supportive in the medium term. This is partly related to supportive policy initiatives, notably the infrastructure programmes that have been announced globally but not yet deployed. Given the magnitude of these programmes, and the longer duration of their deployment, we are of the view that we are facing a more prolonged positive economic cycle, which should remain supportive of equity markets.
With the higher equity valuations and a strong 2021 for equities globally, we expect 2022 to be a year of lower returns and higher volatility for investors.
Monetary policy normalisation will bring continued volatility and will maintain the bull-bear debate between growth and value.
The Omicron Covid-19 variant has the potential to disrupt both economic momentum and monetary policies, should it lead to renewed significant lockdown measures.