The global economy is in a fragile state

INVESTORS today are facing tremendous uncertainty fuelled by slowing economic growth, technological disruption and social and geopolitical instability. Particularly worrying is the adoption of negative interest rates by central banks attempting to spark economic growth. Their actions are severely punishing the world's savers and creating incentives to reach for yield, pushing investors into less liquid asset classes and increased levels of risk, with potentially dangerous financial and economic consequences.

Markets are also still digesting the dramatic shift in the cost of energy as a mix of technology and geopolitics has transformed supply. Beyond its effect on energy prices, technology continues to disrupt many industries and even societies as it reshapes global employment markets.

In China, growth is slowing with global effects. In the US, the quality of corporate earnings is deteriorating, with record share repurchases in 2015 driving valuations - an indication of companies succumbing to the pressures of short-termism in place of constructive, long-term strategies.