Many of us had thought, or hoped, that the end of 2020 would herald a return to normality. In fact, Covid-19 showed little sign of loosening its grip during the first quarter of 2021, with new, more transmissible variants of the virus driving a strong rise in global cases this year. For investors, we’re still very much in uncharted territory, and analysing the long-term economic and financial implications of Covid-19 is challenging. More importantly, the pictures from India and Brazil are reminders that Covid-19 is still exacting a terrible human toll and that the virus is not beaten until it is beaten for us all.
The views set out in the podcast represent the latest thinking to emerge from the quarterly Global Investment Group, or GIG. The GIG’s role is to characterise the current and future risk-return environment at a high level.