Insights for professional partners

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. 

A year of rapid-fire interest rate hikes by central banks is yet to be fully felt by the wider economy. Rathbones’ co-chief investment officer Ed Smith explains why that makes us cautious.

Ructions in the banking sector don’t appear to be the first tremors of a systemic financial crisis, but rather a delayed, jolting reaction to the steepest rate increases in 40 years

Hear from our co-chief investment officer, Edward Smith and head of client development, Ian Dembinski in our quarterly Investment Insights webinar which highlights some of the key themes that are set to shape the investment landscape in 2023.

Our latest Investment Insights looks to demystify some misconceptions about growth and value investing, with important implications given the risks of recession this year. We also highlight the signs we will be looking for to know when it's time to turn more positive.

In these videos Rathbones’ co-chief investment officer Ed Smith gives a review of 2022 and discusses our outlook for 2023.

We can see a path to a new bull market in the second half of 2023, but we’re not there yet.

In the midst of what continues to be a turbulent year for investors, our lead article explores the varied challenges facing some of the world’s major economies, and the likelihood of different inflation and recession scenarios coming to fruition.

Our latest Insights highlights why we still see US or global recession as unlikely over the next 12 months, despite what you might be reading in the headlines of the financial press. In any case, no two downturns are the same (each is unhappy in its own way), and a crucial point that often goes missing in the current debate is that it’s still too early to be clear about what kind this one will be, and therefore how to properly defend portfolios against it.