Five market surprises for 2021

The pandemic has shocked us all, but what surprises could 2021 bring, and what will it mean for your investment decisions? Barry Gill, Head of Investments names his five key predictions for the coming year.

With work-from-home offices becoming the ‘new normal’, could economies be more vulnerable to disruption from a cyber-attack?

Cyber-threats are evolving fast but are they an imminent threat...

Or more likely to be an ongoing threat with new ways of policing increasing cybercrime and dark virtual economies being developed in the 2030s as predicted by Rahaf Harfoush, digital anthropologist?

As the vaccine timetable has moved earlier, could this allow a faster-than-expected return to normalcy?

Equity markets could experience a euphoric rally if the vaccine timetable shifts even earlier

Ongoing easy fiscal and monetary policy combined with faster normalization could accelerate reflation

Investors may want to revisit asset allocations

Could fiscal policy disappoint ahead of broad vaccine dissemination, causing a sharp global economic slowdown?

Consumers and businesses still require a bridge to normalization

Uncontrolled virus spread or stricter shutdowns for longer risk a double dip for economies and markets

Chinese sovereign debt offers yield and downside protection

Are US tech giants in for a reckoning, and will a tax code change and tighter regulation mean that a break-up of big tech monopolies is on the cards?

Shift of power from large cap to small cap

Re-allocation to equity income portfolios

Search for dividends

Could new US leadership set the stage for a reset in US-China relations?

Tariff removal would boost global trade and the economy

Reduced global uncertainty catalyzes a major flow shift from developed to emerging market assets.

For further insights from our investment experts, visit ubs.com/panorama