How to benefit from volatility in fixed income

Explore the 2027 changes and what they could mean for insurers across capital requirements, governance expectations and investment flexibility.

Checkpoints is a comprehensive monthly chartbook highlighting major top-of-mind themes that could shape financial markets in the near term. In addition to the broader macroeconomic discussion, Checkpoints delivers detailed views on major asset classes, including global equities, fixed income and real assets.

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.

Large-cap growth has been difficult to ignore, delivering strong performance over the last few years. But the equity quilt below reminds us that no segment stays on top indefinitely. History shows that periods of narrow market leadership are often followed by broader participation. What leads one year can quickly give way to another the next year.