Insights for professional partners

Why investing in UK property is not always as safe as houses.

Major new technologies often result in investors over-extrapolating: think of radio stocks in the 1920s, or internet stocks in the late 90s. Or even the dominance of miners and oil producers in 2010 as globalisation — which is technological in a sense — was touted as never-ending. The history of artificial intelligence (AI) is filled with predictions that now seem absurd: pioneering computer scientist Herbert Simon said that by 1985 a computer would be as capable as the human brain.

The fits and starts may not be over, but we’re looking forward to a more sustainable recovery beginning in 2024.

The world has changed profoundly since the late 2010s, and the opportunities available to us as investors along with it. The strategies that serve us well today will look different to those that worked best in the unusual low-rate, low-volatility environment of the last decade.

We delve into the world of generative AI, demystify this technology craze and consider the investment opportunities and risks it might bring.

What are the big ‘what-ifs’ keeping people awake at night and how can we have peace of mind as investors in a dangerous world? We run through the risks and discuss our approach to monitoring them as investors.

What might happen next as central banks come to the end of their interest rate increases? Will this signal better returns for investors next year? Edward Smith, co-chief investment officer shares his insight. In addition, Oliver Jones, head of asset allocation, provides an update on China.

As the inflationary shocks caused by the pandemic and war in Ukraine finally begin to unwind, we take a look at how the world has changed profoundly, and the opportunities available to us as investors along with it.

In hindsight we underestimated the resilience of the global economy in 2023 and could have advocated taking more risk. But as Rathbones’ Co-CIO Ed Smith explains in this video, global earnings have been falling since January and equity markets have been largely driven by sentiment.

The darkest hour for economic indicators is still approaching; then comes the dawn.

Rathbones’ co-chief investment officer, Edward Smith and head of equities, Sanjiv Tumkur provide an update on the market outlook. They discuss current thinking on the wider global economy and markets, in addition to some of the key developments to watch out for over the rest of the year.

Markets and economic data have been sending conflicting signals. Technology shares are being snapped up as new AI applications like Chat GPT burst onto the scene. But most of the rest of the global equity markets remain in the doldrums, and government bonds have had a drubbing. But there are plenty of reasons to be cheerful as we look to relax and enjoy the rest of the summer.

What to do when markets and data seem full of conflicting messages

Rathbones’ Edward Smith, co-chief investment officer, and Jing Hu, senior asset allocation analyst, give an update on some of the key themes shaping the investment outlook including the banking sector, the outlook for inflation and interest rates as well as a review of China.

We’ve certainly had a difficult start to the year, but what is the investment outlook as we look forward to sunnier days ahead? Our latest Investment Insights considers some of the key themes – such as expectations versus reality for US company profits and the search for inflation protection.