Authored by: Sean Duffin

The Business Cycle’s Impact on Asset Performance

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Asset performance is highly sensitive to the global business cycle. In this chart book, we highlight the significant shifts in performance distributions across the global business cycle for major asset classes, including equity regions, styles, sectors as well as for fixed income, real asset and currencies. Ultimately, understanding the distributions of asset performance across business cycle stages and considering where the global economy is headed are key inputs in a rigorous investment decision-making framework.

Should Investors Lean Into Quality Equities?

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Yes. Aggressive central bank tightening has caused economic growth to slow in Europe and the United States, and we expect that the recent banking sector stress will further weaken economic growth. Now is the time for investors to tactically overweight quality equities, given this style has tended to outperform broad equities during periods of economic contraction.

2023 Outlook: Currencies

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We expect the US dollar to remain firm but with limited appreciation relative to 2022, given our view that it is near the end of its incredible multi-year run. We believe gold’s performance will improve and digital assets, in general, will not surpass prior highs, many of which were set in 2021.

2023 Outlook: Equities

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We expect global earnings growth will be below average next year, as prior interest rate hikes increasingly bite. With this backdrop, we expect value equities will outperform, Chinese equity underperformance will correct, and Healthcare may present an overweight opportunity.

Ethereum’s Merge Is a Transformational Event, but Don’t Expect Digital Assets Prices to Come Out of Their Slump

A major Ethereum blockchain software upgrade was successfully completed earlier today, marking a landmark event for the digital assets industry. The upgrade, known as the “merge,” changes how transactions are verified on Ethereum’s blockchain and dramatically improves its energy efficiency. While this is welcome news, we doubt this means the rout in digital assets prices is over in the near term, as macro headwinds continue to be the most important factor driving prices.

Capital Flows to Cryptoassets Increase, Despite Volatility

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Digital assets saw considerable inflows in recent years as investors searched for alternative sources of return amid excessive equity and bond valuations. We expect this momentum will continue next year as regulators increasingly approve easy-to-access cryptocurrency exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Still, global regulatory challenges persist, and cryptoassets will remain highly volatile until there is more clarity on future regulation.