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.
Over the past year, the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the shift to a new paradigm for economies and markets, characterized by near-zero interest rates, coordinated monetary and fiscal policy (Monetary Policy 3/MP3), and heightened internal and external conflict. While the pandemic was an accelerant, we believe a shift to this new paradigm was inevitable over time and that the key elements of this new environment will remain long after the virus passes.
