Around The World In 100 Words - January 2018, Week 1

2018 is under way and it promises to be an interesting year. On the front burner is Brexit, the defeat of Islamic State, nuclear brinkmanship on the Korean Peninsula, rising interest rates and, you guessed it, Donald Trump. On that front, Mid Term elections in the US this year hold the outcome of Trump’s Presidency, where Republican control over both Houses of Congress will be the difference between more of last year and a dead-duck President.

Relentlessly, tech-driven distribution will intensify with advances commercial drones, driverless cars, artificial intelligence, quantum computing, mobile streaming, medical breakthroughs and tech giants moving increasingly into banking -their next frontier. All of these developments offer investment opportunities that the institutional wealth management firms we partner with will look to capitalize on. 

And speaking of investments, capital markets finished on a strong note last year. There is considerable debate however as to how much more this already-stretched Bull Market can run. We are of the view that markets reflect much of the good news out there, and are more likely than not going to see a pull-back at some point in 2018. Our balanced approach to building and preserving wealth will continue, though with a greater emphasis on corporate bonds and equities ex-North America.

Overall, we are optimistic about the outlook for this year and look forward to speaking with you in regards to your 2017 year-end and to discuss asset allocation for 2018.

Happy New Year!

Martin

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