Gain insights on this year's biggest market trends at BT's webinar

Singapore

GLOBAL markets continue to stay on high alert in the new year following hawkish pivots by the United States Federal Reserve and European Central Bank to stem rising inflation.

This comes amid the spread of Omicron, ongoing geopolitical tensions and slowing growth in several economies - resulting in volatile stock movements and soaring commodity prices worldwide.

Investors wishing to understand how these various factors will impact their investment portfolios can join The Business Times (BT) at its lunchtime webinar to be held on Feb 25, Friday, in partnership with Singapore Exchange (SGX) and FTSE Russell.

The panel of 5 experts comprises:

• Vasu Menon, executive director of investment strategy at OCBC;
• James Cheo, managing director and chief investment officer for South-east Asia, global private banking and wealth, at HSBC;
• Geoff Howie, market strategist at SGX;
• Helena Fung, head of sustainable investment for Asia-Pacific at FTSE Russell; and
• Francis Tan, investment strategist and first vice president at UOB Private Bank.

BT's senior correspondent Ben Paul will moderate the discussion.

Attendees can look forward to some insights on how best to steer through unpredictable markets and pick out investments that may yield the best returns.

Paul said the outlook for global markets "isn't entirely clear".

"We are not completely out of the woods yet, but there is a growing sense among investors that Covid-19 is well on the way to being defeated," he said.

"With the economic recovery in activity, inflation is surging across the world and central banks have become a lot more hawkish.

"Geopolitical tensions are an added uncertainty. At the same time, environmental, social and governance factors are becoming more important in how institutional investors allocate their funds.

"The panel of well-known speakers we have lined up is going to help us make sense of these issues, and show us where big opportunities for 2022 lie."

The Zoom webinar will take place from 1-2 pm on Feb 25.

Sign up at https://bt.sg/outlook22. Registration closes on Feb 22. Limited slots are available on a first come, first served basis.