Singapore

AN ageing demographic underpins an intense appetite for income globally, but now is not the time to dial up on risk, particularly as high quality dividend stocks are overvalued, said BlackRock head of income investing (multi-asset strategies) Michael Fredericks.

He said investors should continue to brace themselves for potentially sharp market pullbacks. "It's a low-growth world in developed markets. We're already at stall speed. When you see a deceleration of data you get extreme risk-off behaviour. Our view is - get used to it. We're likely to see more frightening pullbacks. In developed markets, particularly the US and Europe, equities aren't cheap.''