Everyone in the Trustnet team – Jonathan, Gary, Anthony, Tom and Matteo – wishes you a very Merry Christmas.
A year ago, in this message, we said the world was an uncertain place and so it proved. This year feels the same, with so much to consider heading into 2023.
The risk of Covid, which was still lingering in December 2021, has abated in much of the Western world, although it remains a key area of concern in China after the easing of its zero-Covid policy left the country facing fresh waves. Yet despite the move into a post-pandemic world, one could hardly call 2022 a year of recovery.
The war in Ukraine highlights a geopolitical landscape in flux, while rampant inflation and higher interest rates have caused a cost-of-living crisis for many around the world.
In markets, some key themes have come back over the course of the year, such as the return of value investing, income playing a bigger role in portfolios and growth stocks tumbling almost as rapidly as they had risen.
Latin American equities and commodities topped the charts over the year, something few would have predicted with any certainty at the start of the year, while the former darling US technology names crumbled – a shift few were prepared for.
Heading into 2023, it means that there are even fewer certainties than there were a year ago. Now more than ever it seems as though events have binary outcomes.
Will central banks stop raising rates? Will inflation peak? Will most economies enter recession? These are all questions investors may have to work out the answer to if they want to make returns in 2023.
And that is before we consider if the war in Ukraine will be over (and how it ends), whether China can easily emerge from zero-Covid and if the latest iteration of the UK government will last until the next general election, having had three prime ministers in 2022 alone.
Of course, on top of all of these questions, there will be unknowns yet to be discovered.
It makes the coming 12 months interesting. Whether good, bad or indifferent, the next 12 months should be one to remember.
No matter how the year pans out, Trustnet will be here to guide you through the big events in markets, find out how experts are dealing with scenarios and bring you plenty of ideas for how to put your hard-earned money to action.
Until then, we thank you for your continued readership in 2022 and we look forward to keeping you up-to-date with events in the new year.
Merry Christmas all,
The Trustnet team