This conference looked at whether the COVID crisis has had a pervasive impact on the investment landscape in the short and long term, and asked delegates to question whether some of the investment assumptions used in the past are still applicable in the future. It also looked at the influence of the COVID crisis as an accelerator for certain key themes driving markets; examined the way business is conducted and decisions are made; and tried to predict the impact of technological innovation on businesses, the way we work and the future of the global economy. Importantly it challenged investors to think about what needs to change, and hasn’t yet, and how the crisis can be a catalyst for new and improved business practices and investment allocations.
Should we be thinking about investment differently in 2021? Certainly, there appears to be cause for challenge of current thinking on inflation rates and the rise of China in the new world order. There is also room in our view for more capital-efficient liability-driven investment and greater diversity of investments with more downside protection.
But the opportunities also extend to the nature of investing and different ways to approach it that may support better outcomes.
