Shane Oliver, Head of Investment Strategy and Chief Economist.
The attached note reviews what 2019 meant for investors and takes a look at the outlook for 2020. The key points are as follows:
2019 saw economic and profit growth slow, recession fears increase and the US trade wars ramp up, but solid investment returns as monetary policy eased, bond yields fell and demand for unlisted assets remained strong.
2020 is likely to see global growth pick up with monetary policy remaining easy. Expect the RBA to cut the cash rate to 0.25% and to undertake quantitative easing.
Against this backdrop, share markets are likely to see reasonable but more constrained & volatile returns, and bond yields are likely to back up resulting in good but more modest returns from a diversified mix of assets.
The main things to keep an eye on are: the trade wars, the US election, global growth, Chinese growth, and fiscal versus monetary stimulus in Australia.