The American Century Podcast

Multi-Asset CIO Rich Weiss describes 2019 as likely having a split personality—one for the first half, and another for the second. “The first half of the year, we’re searching for a bottom,” he said in his January 2019 outlook. “Once that’s found, for the second half of the year, we’re liable to be in recovery mode.”

Moving forward into 2019, Portfolio Manager Rene Casis sees three themes shaping the markets: inflationary concerns, rising interest rates, and increased volatility. What does that mean? Advisors will need to be more thoughtful about the portfolio construction process behind exchange-traded funds, or ETFs.

2018 challenged emerging markets (EM). Political uncertainty, trade wars and central bank policies caused the markets to price in no growth for EM. Despite these difficulties, Patricia Ribeiro and the Emerging Markets team think 2019 will be a positive year for EM. Get her take on the opportunities and challenges ahead in this 2019 outlook.

While the end of 2018 may have been rocky for financial markets, our value team is excited about their prospects in 2019. In this quarter’s update, Sr. Portfolio Manager Mike Liss discusses where his team is looking for good risk/rewards for client portfolios, and what continues to worry him heading into 2019.

2019 could be an interesting year from a global growth perspective. In this quarterly update, Portfolio Manager Margé Karner discusses the good and the bad from a macroeconomic perspective, and how her team plans to navigate through the noise in the new year.

Brexit and trade negotiations with China were big topics at the end of 2018, and we think we’ll see some resolutions in 2019. But in fixed income markets, all eYes are on the Federal Reserve and what they might do in the year ahead. Co-Chief Investment Officer John Lovito explains the great debate, and what he thinks is likely to happen.

Volatility makes many investors nervous, but Fixed Income Sr. Portfolio Manager Kevin Akioka sees opportunity amid changing market conditions. This quarter he shares how rising rates will impact the credit market and why he’s optimistic about certain credit sectors.

Looking forward to 2019, we think there’s a great opportunity for small caps to rally again. Sr. Portfolio Manager Jeff John gives three reasons why in his latest quarterly update.

The return of volatility in 2018 has many investors questioning where we are in the economic cycle. Some think markets have peaked, while others believe there’s room for markets to accelerate. In his latest quarterly update, Portfolio Manager Jeff Bourke describes how our growth teams are navigating this uncertain environment to find compelling long-term growth opportunities.