Well, it looks like the IMF isn’t the only one with a dim outlook on the future.
Singapore’s GIC, one of the world’s largest sovereign funds, has recently announced that it expects to see lower returns over the next five to ten years, with Lim Chow Kiat, the fund’s group president and CIO, saying:
“The sharp rise of asset prices, when the global economy is still struggling to gain a firm foothold, makes the investment environment particularly uncertain and unpredictable.”
According to the WSJ, the $344 billion fund has apparently cut its stakes in European firms while slightly increasing its shares in North American companies. Asian bets meanwhile rose to 30% of the portfolio, up from 27%, with China remaining a favorite haunt for long-term investments.
“China in the last three years has demonstrated its seriousness to reforms and we believe that the country’s future is good.”
In U.S. Dollar terms, GIC has returned 6.1% annually for the past 20 years. How much of a hit they expect over the next decade, they did not reveal.
Photo: Sacha Fernandez