The new decade is upon us
December 19, 2019
There are many asset classes to follow when choosing where to invest in 2020.
The key to building wealth and achieving financial security is to invest money wisely, but with so many options available, many people find themselves overwhelmed and end up opting for what they perceive as safe, traditional methods like retirement funds and savings accounts.
While there’s nothing inherently wrong with this approach, it isn’t one that will get you spectacular returns, in fact, you may often lose out due to inflation and low-interest rates.
Economists have identified several potential threats to the global economy in 2020, ranging from Brexit, the US/China trade war, escalating climate disasters, and the looming threat of a global recession.
This last point is especially pertinent when choosing where to invest in 2020. The International Monetary Fund (IMF)’s global growth forecast in 2019 was just 3% – the lowest since the last financial crisis. Growth in 2020 is predicted to increase to 3.4%, but the majority of economists expect a global recession to hit before the end of 2021.
Not everyone is so gloomy in their outlook, however, with Goldman Sachs stating: “We expect the global growth slowdown that began in early 2018 to end soon, in response to easier financial conditions and an end to the trade escalation. Although annual-average GDP growth is likely to rise only modestly from 3.1% in 2019 to 3.4% in 2020, this conceals a more pronounced sequential pattern of slowing growth this year and—in our forecast—gradually rising growth next year.”