Investing in any form comes with high risks associated, compounded by the fact that the investing environment is constantly changing.
The current equity market is headed into a bull market phase, in which prices are constantly rising, encouraging investment. It is unclear how long this trend will prevail and whether there is anything on the horizon that may affect the impact.
In their latest market strategy round up, Oppenheimer forecasted the current bull market to triumph for at least the next twelve months, considering no external factors change, however this is just a forecast.
In an article Oppenheimer write, “In our opinion the sustainable economic expansion currently in progress along with continued revenue and earnings growth are likely to keep investors’ interest in stocks. Bull markets do not come with an expiry date stamped on them.” This would suggest for at least the next year, it would be a great idea to invest.
In 2017, the value of the US Dollar versus foreign currencies, particularly the Euro, saw a decrease from around 1USD to 0.95EUR in January, decreasing to just 1USD to 0.85EUR in recent days.
Max Lami and other members of the Oppenheimer managerial team, predicted the dollar to remain at these moderate levels for at least the start of 2018. This is attributed to American economic growth being accountable to the consumer, with 69% of US economic growth being attributable to the consumer.
Looking at Britain, and more specifically London, it is still not confirmed whether or not The European Union will devise a special deal with those in the financial sector. The governor of the Bank of England informed MPs that there is definitely leeway in negotiation with Europe for a specific, bespoke financial services deal. This could be essential to safeguard the future of London, and the UK’s financial sector.
In the US market currently, growth stocks are hugely out performing value stocks. This is quite an odd occurrence, however, when the new year rolls around this will readjust and value stocks will begin to rise in value. Growth stocks still are forecast to grow radically, and a barbell approach to investing is encouraged – this is when one invests in long and short term stocks but not in intermediate stocks.
When asked whether the US could be hit with recession, John Stoltzfus, Chief Investment Strategist for Oppenheimer’s asset management said that with the current expansion of the American economy, the momentum of American businesses at home and internationally, and the rise in revenues and earnings, there is an almost impossibility of recession hitting.
However, the does not mean any external factors could alter this, and forecasters will stay vigil in the new year for any tell-tale signs of market recession.
