TORONTO, ONTARIO and CHICAGO, ILLINOIS and LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM and HONG KONG, CHINA–(Marketwired – Dec. 8, 2016) – BMO Global Asset Management today released its annual Five-Year Outlook report, which examines the long-term impact of several themes shaping the global economy and markets. It considers a number of likely scenarios and the investment opportunities they may bring to portfolio allocation strategies across asset classes and sectors.
“This era of rapid change offers opportunities as well as some risks,” said Richard Wilson, Group Head, BMO Global Asset Management. “Our outlook report is the result of a collaboration and debate among our international investment leaders, strategists and select independent experts. It provides an important contribution to our investment teams’ decisions, as well as informing our clients about how we view global markets.”
The report contemplates three potential economic growth scenarios over the next five years:
| 1. | The most likely base case scenario, to which the report assigns a 70 per cent possibility, depicts the stable continuation of a US-led global recovery; modest levels of growth are maintained with no recessionary dip. While the effectiveness of monetary policies appears to be waning, policymakers will move to fiscal policy measures to help stimulate production and address increasingly demanding and disruptive populist movements. |
| 2. | The downside scenario, to which the report assigns a 20 per cent probability, considers the negative outcomes of failing monetary and fiscal policies, a stalling in global growth and low economic expansion. This will trigger an already disaffected population, faced with rising unemployment and decreasing savings. The scenario leads to increased demands for protectionism and impacting global trade. |
| 3. | The report assigns a 10 per cent likelihood to the most optimistic scenario, which predicts that policymakers around the world are successful in overcoming downward pressures on productivity and unemployment, stimulating economic growth. It also anticipates the positive outcomes of new technology, with low interest rates giving new ventures easy access to capital – providing greater scope for asset-light business models to develop. |
About BMO Global Asset Management
BMO Global Asset Management is a global investment manager with offices in more than 25 cities in 14 countries, delivering service excellence to clients across five continents.
Our four major investment centers in Toronto, Chicago, London and Hong Kong are complemented by a network of world-class boutique managers strategically located across the globe: BMO Real Estate Partners, LGM Investments, Monegy, Inc., Pyrford International Ltd., and Taplin, Canida & Habacht, LLC. BMO Global Asset Management is a signatory of the United Nations-supported Principles for Responsible Investment initiative (UNPRI).
BMO Global Asset Management is a part of BMO Financial Group, a highly diversified financial services provider based in North America with total assets of CDN $688 billion as of October 31, 2016 and more than 45,000 employees. BMO Wealth Management has worldwide assets under management of CDN $406 billion.
BMO Global Asset Management is the brand name for various affiliated entities of BMO Financial Group that provide investment management, retirement, and trust and custody services. BMO Global Asset Management comprises BMO Asset Management Inc., BMO Investments Inc., BMO Asset Management Corp. and BMO’s specialized investment management firms. Certain of the products and services offered under the brand name, BMO Global Asset Management are designed specifically for various categories of investors in a number of different countries and regions and may not be available to all investors. Products and services are only offered to such investors in those countries and regions in accordance with applicable laws and regulations.
Mark Beazley, Toronto & Chicago
+1-416-867-3996
mark.beazley@bmo.com
Vicky Simler, London
+44(0)20 3727 1470
Vicky.Simler@fticonsulting.com
Charlotte Bilney, Hong Kong
+852 3103-0103
charlotte.bilney@citigate.com.hk