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Chart of the week

Resilient through uncertainty

U.S. policy uncertainty has remained elevated and consumer sentiment has weakened. Even so, the economy has stayed resilient, and because growth has held up better than sentiment and headlines suggest, we continue to forecast 2% U.S. growth in 2026, in line with trend.


U.S. policy uncertainty — a dependable catalyst for investor anxiety — has remained elevated in recent years, with the Economic Policy Uncertainty Index running well above its long-run average. At the same time, consumer sentiment has deteriorated amid fears of a growth slowdown, which have prompted a reassessment of the outlook for risk assets.

Still, the economic backdrop has remained notably resilient — stronger than many investors and analysts expected — despite policy shocks like tariff changes and government shutdowns.

While the noise around the growth narrative has been loud, it has still been mostly noise. Policy uncertainty and investor unease have been real, but the economy has continued to absorb both. As a result, we reiterate our growth forecast for 2026 of 2%, in-line with trend.

In a real regime shift?

Higher inflation has been a dominant theme of the current decade. In addition to price shocks, it is being shaped by secular investment trends in infrastructure, defense spending, onshoring and the ongoing AI buildout. These structural changes reinforce the case for looking beyond traditional 60/40 portfolios to include real assets as a source of diversification and return potential in portfolios.

02 September | English

Getting real with real assets

Inflation appears to have transitioned from its pre-Covid average of 2% to a stickier point closer to 3%, and we do not expect a near-term return to prior levels. In this environment, we believe real assets, such as commodities, infrastructure and REITs, can provide inflation protection, diversification and return potential.

25 August | English

Not in a bubble

As the S&P 500 approaches all-time highs, there are renewed concerns among investors about elevated valuations. However, historically strong profitability and expected earnings growth appear to support current pricing. In addition, the current S&P 500 price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio is roughly equal to the average since Covid. As a result, we do not view U.S. equities as being in bubble territory and we remain constructive on the asset class.

18 August | English

Is the market rally broadening?

Stocks, as measured by the S&P 500, are up over 13% through early August. The solid gains have been fueled by a resilient economy, steady consumer spending, optimism around artificial intelligence and better-than-expected earnings growth. Still, some investors worry the advance may be too concentrated in technology and that AI-capex monetization may fall short of expectations. A closer look suggests that it is not just tech moving the market higher.

11 August | English