Outlook 2026: Navigate new pathways

As we enter a new year, an investment landscape is emerging that requires a combination of vigilance and ambition. The US – long a crucial engine of global growth – faces institutional challenges and potentially stretched asset valuations. While AI-related stocks remain an essential part of portfolios, investors should be selective to mitigate the risks of any fallout. In this environment, Europe, China and India may offer broader, more diversified and attractively priced opportunities. Diverging inflation trends – rising in the US but subdued elsewhere – and contrasting monetary policies underscore the importance of regional diversification, especially for those seeking resilient income in a more volatile world. Emerging market central banks have greater policy flexibility, which, combined with potential further weakness in the US dollar, could support emerging market debt.

Private markets are no longer merely “alternative” – they have become foundational to long-term portfolio construction. Within this space, private credit and infrastructure stand out as powerful drivers of long-term value creation, financing the real economy, bridging infrastructure gaps, and enabling structural transformations such as deglobalisation, decarbonisation and digitalisation. Success will hinge on careful manager selection and disciplined underwriting.

We think charting a course through 2026 will require a variety of tools across a range of asset classes, public and private. We are pleased to share the insights of our experts, who outline their key ideas and opportunities for 2026 – designed to help guide you towards new pathways in a rapidly evolving investment landscape.