Investment experts predict that 2024 will be a year of emerging opportunities as most economies are on a trajectory of expansion. The latest World Economic Outlook predicts that global growth will stay at 3.2 percent this year and next, with median headline inflation declining from 2.8 percent at the end of 2024 to 2.4 percent at the end of 2025.
These indicators continue to point to a soft landing. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) also predicts that the economic damage from the past four years‘ crises will be less severe, although the impact will differ from country to country. Notably, growth in the euro area is seen to improve but will start from low levels due to past shocks and strict monetary policies.
“Robust consumer spending catalyzed by post-pandemic savings buffers and a healthy jobs market have resulted in the US economy remaining resilient despite higher interest rates. The US economy is also benefiting from planned industrial investment via the CHIPS and Inflation Reduction Acts which are supporting employment, productivity, and ultimately economic growth for years to come,” Ecaterina Bigos, Chief Investment Officer at AXA IM Core Asia shared.
Riding the wave of worldwide AI adoption, leaders have dominated US large-cap stock performance. The value of AI is in the way it has embedded itself in people’s daily lives, so much so that we interact with it several times a day, in mundane things such as algorithms that decide Facebook feeds, Netflix recommendations, or even biometrics.
Dexter Agcaoili, Retail Propositions Director for Single Premium Products and Unit Linked Funds at AXA Philippines advised would-be investors to be wary of tech with limited applications.
“The value of an asset would depend on its use,” he cautioned. He later added that in general, any investor should invest in companies that have proven cash flow.
Given the positive outlook backed by emerging opportunities, Agcaoili brought attention to the importance of diversification in managing an investment portfolio and emphasized that it isn’t something investors need to do on their own. He explained how diversification is about balancing stability and opportunity while reducing overall portfolio volatility.
AXA recognizes that putting together and maintaining a viable diversified portfolio can be a daunting and time-consuming endeavor. As a global leader in insurance and investment, AXA offers a simplified and seamless way of extensively diversifying asset portfolios through Asset Master.
Asset Master is an insurance and investment plan that helps investors spread investment across diverse and professionally managed funds such as the Global REIT (Real Estate Investment Trust) and Property Income Fund which invests in prime real estate, in a broad range of sectors; Global Assets Income Paying Fund (GAIN) which provides dividends and diversified exposure to both global bonds and equities; and Global Advantage Funds which specifically covers the 100 largest and most active non-financial stocks in the US.
On top of its investment edge, Asset Master’s insurance benefits make it a good estate planning solution as well. The proceeds from this insurance plan to irrevocable beneficiaries are not subject to tax, and by law, exempt from garnishment, allowing full and seamless transfer to the heirs upon the death of an individual. Asset Master offers the best of both worlds, a way to safely grow wealth and a means to protect a legacy.
Established in 1999, AXA Philippines is one of the largest and fastest growing insurance companies in the country. It offers financial security to close to 2 million individuals through its group and individual life insurance as well as general insurance products.
AXA Philippines is one of the first to introduce bancassurance operations in the country, and is among the pioneers in the investment-linked insurance sector.
AXA Philippines is a joint venture between the AXA Group, headquartered in France, GT Capital Holdings, Inc. (GT Capital), a leading listed conglomerate in the Philippines, and Metropolitan Bank and Trust Company (Metrobank), one of the Philippines’ largest financial institutions.
