CIO Bernard Swords discusses weak near-term developments but argues that the policy backdrop improves the outlook further and continues to support our investment view.

• We are in a bit of a lull as the market awaits the full results season and how Covid 19 will play out over the next few weeks.
• We are still getting signs of a disrupted economy in the short term as consumer health driven caution and lockdowns continue to impact on the global economy.
• Positively, we continue to get the policy offset. President elect Biden’s stimulus plan gives further confidence to this so despite the current economic weakness, we still expect the global economy to have a stronger year than is currently forecast and this underpins our positive view on equities.