Very few investors will look back at 2022 with any fondness but are there grounds to be more hopeful in the year ahead?
2022 was characterised by escalating geopolitical risk and central banks raising interest rates aggressively to try to tame runaway inflation. Both weighed heavily on investor sentiment, triggering bouts of volatility and deep falls for stocks and bonds. Global stocks declined 19% and UK government bonds fell 25%. Growth and technology stocks suffered even more and the Nasdaq lost 33%.
Heading into 2023, these are all still clear and present concerns for investors. There are no signs of a ceasefire in Ukraine, Taiwan has extended its compulsory military service amid growing tensions with China and central banks will hike interest rates further to bring down inflation.
TEAM plc (LON:TEAM) is building a new wealth, asset management and complementary financial services group. With a focus on the UK, Crown Dependencies and International Finance Centres, the strategy is to build local businesses of scale around TEAM’s core skill of providing investment management services.