2013 will be another challenging and event-driven year for equity investors to negotiate. Markets face a number of risks with binary outcomes, not least the imminent fiscal cliff facing the US economy.
While the prospects for earnings growth in most developed equity markets are now more modest, a positive case can be made for a re-rating of equities, yet this is dependent on progress being made against some powerful headwinds.
With major government bond yields likely to stay low and below inflation, investors will continue to seek positive real returns in higher-yielding, income-generating assets and dividend-paying equities remain attractive on a total return basis.
To read Fidelity’s white paper, 2013: An event driven year, click here.