Fidelity International - Outlook 2018 - Survey Results
Conducted December 2017 - 243 Respondents
Fidelity International surveyed more than 240 professional investors to gain a fresh understanding of how they view the current investment landscape and how likely this is to influence their investment recommendations in 2018. The full survey results can be viewed via the link at the bottom of this page, but here is the summary of key takeaways.
- Despite the continuation of rising markets, a significant amount of advisers and their clients are less optimistic than 12 month ago.
- Political uncertainty and lofty valuations are the influencing factors weighing on adviser's minds in 2018.
- And with political uncertainty on home turf, advisers indicated they will be looking overseas in search of growth and diversification.
- While advisers remain relatively positive on the outlook for equity markets in 2018, the prospect of further rate hikes in the coming months means the bond bears are once again out in force. Advisers recommendation would be to reduce investment in these areas (Fixed Income).
View full survey results here.
Fidelity Special Situations Fund Team comments on 2018 outlook
"Clearly, the spectre of Brexit looms large and greater certainty over the direction of negotiations between the UK and European Union would be welcomed. Such clarity would provide a real world boost to the domestic economy as it would enable firms to have more confidence when it comes to making operational decisions around investment and hiring." Alex Wright, Fidelity Special Situations Fund
"Regionally, Japanese equities are still well below the levels of the late 1990s, but in 2017 they reached a 25-year high. Earnings growth in Japan is expected to reach 20% in 2017, but consensus forecasts that rate to slow sharply in 2018, although it is still expected to remain in positive territory. I think there is potential for Japanese profits to surprise investors on the upside in 2018, resulting in another leg up in that market." Jeremy Podger, Fidelity Global Special Situations Fund
Important legal information:
The value of investments and the income from them can go down as well as up, so you may not get back what you invest. Investors should note that the views expressed may no longer be current and may have already been acted upon. Changes in currency exchange rates may affect the value of an investment in overseas markets. Investments in small and emerging markets can also be more volatile than other more developed markets. Reference in this document to specific securities should not be interpreted as a recommendation to buy or sell these securities, but is included for the purposes of illustration only. The price of bonds is influenced by movements in interest rates, changes in the credit rating of bond issuers, and other factors such as inflation and market dynamics. In general, as interest rates rise the price of a bond will fall. The risk of default is based on the issuer's ability to make interest payments and to repay the loan at maturity. Default risk may, therefore, vary between different government issuers as well as between different corporate issuers.