Investing in an era of normalisation: Where are the opportunities?

Navigating a volatile market

Graham Neilson, investment director at Fulcrum Asset Management, assesses the impact of interest rates, inflation and volatility on the world's markets.

There are four trends that would need to be maintained for the theme of normalisation to continue: • The return of global activity to a higher level than has prevailed over recent years; • Inflation reverting towards higher levels more consistent with central bank objectives; • Interest rates (including term premia) gradually increasing; • Volatility across financial markets settling at higher levels as central banks withdraw stimulus. We review the progress in these four areas below and assess their implications on financial markets. Global activity Firstly, global econ...