Bank of Singapore efficiently concluded the CIO Summit, held in Dubai, the place its management and professional panelists explored key funding themes, their implications on international funding, and techniques for fulfillment. During the summit, the Bank unveiled its extremely anticipated “2025 Supertrends Report,” a refreshed outlook constructing upon the insights of the 2024 version. This newest report identifies the important thing funding themes shaping monetary markets and international economies within the years forward.
The 2025 Supertrends Report attracts on views from the lately established Global Advisory Council, which was convened in 2024 below the guiding ideas that thought management is a worldwide effort, there is no such thing as a monopoly on good concepts, and variety of views is crucial. By integrating the experience of esteemed council members, this report affords forward-looking insights to assist buyers navigate an more and more complicated and dynamic world.
As the world undergoes speedy and profound shifts—from geopolitical realignments to the accelerating influence of artificial intelligence, the report underscores the significance of strategic foresight in navigating at this time’s evolving funding panorama.
Ms Jean Chia, Global Chief Investment Officer at Bank of Singapore, stated: “The 2025 Supertrends Report, a collaborative effort of Bank of Singapore’s Chief Investment Office with our CIO Global Advisory Council, integrates diverse global perspectives to provide our clients with actionable insights. By anticipating these structural trends, investors can unlock new opportunities and construct resilient portfolios that thrive in an ever-changing world.”
The 2025 Supertrends Report identifies 5 key funding themes that may outline the monetary and financial panorama within the coming years:
The Changing World Order
This theme explores the rising fragmentation of the worldwide economic system as buyers navigate the lingering results of the pandemic, ongoing wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, and the escalating US-China rivalry. This divide is predicted to deepen below a second Trump presidency, which may introduce tax cuts, steep tariffs, tighter immigration insurance policies, and deregulation—probably driving inflation increased for the remainder of the last decade.
While these measures might initially enhance US financial progress, fewer Federal Reserve (Fed) charge cuts and better US Treasury (UST) yields may create headwinds in the long run. Meanwhile, the remainder of the world is prone to face financial pressure attributable to US tariffs, a stronger greenback, and rising UST yields. If the worldwide economic system continues to fragment into US- and China-led blocs, disrupted provide chains may additional gasoline inflationary pressures worldwide.
Activating Asset Allocation
As conventional 60-40 portfolios turn out to be much less efficient in a high-inflation, high-interest charge surroundings, buyers are anticipated to shift towards personal markets and actual belongings. Key areas of curiosity embody digital transformation, automation, and sustainability, as these sectors drive long-term worth creation.
The growth of digital infrastructure, together with information facilities, 5G networks, and cybersecurity—would require substantial funding, whereas the transition to a sustainable economic system will depend upon scalable options in clear vitality, vitality effectivity, and the round economic system.
In this higher-risk surroundings, firms with sturdy enterprise fashions and pricing energy are prone to outperform. Additionally, given considerations over debt sustainability and geopolitical dangers, buyers might think about safe-haven belongings equivalent to gold to boost portfolio resilience.
Finding AI #IRL
Artificial intelligence is transferring past conceptual hype to real-world purposes, turning into a transparent precedence for companies throughout industries. As firms more and more channel capital into AI-driven investments, they search to boost productiveness, buyer engagement, and income progress. This has led to substantial capital inflows into AI semiconductors, cloud computing, and enterprise software program.
AI semiconductors are benefiting from vital capital expenditures by hyperscalers, with demand extending past off-the-shelf service provider chips to customized options, additional driving progress throughout the semiconductor and {hardware} ecosystem.
Real-world AI purposes are quickly increasing, specializing in:
- Boosting inner worker productiveness
- Creating income alternatives by customer-facing purposes
- Enhancing buyer expertise and engagement
Additionally, shopper adoption of AI-powered instruments—equivalent to chatbots—is steadily rising. As mass-market familiarity with AI grows, it units the stage for sustained and long-term demand, reinforcing AI’s integral position in shaping the way forward for enterprise and expertise.
Powering Ahead
This theme highlights how the rising vitality calls for of AI and the accelerating transition to wash vitality are reshaping the worldwide vitality panorama. As AI adoption expands, so too does its power-intensive nature, intensifying the necessity for sustainable vitality options. While political shifts—equivalent to a Trump administration—might sluggish short-term coverage momentum, the worldwide dedication to sustainability stays sturdy, presenting vital long-term funding alternatives.
The clear vitality transition just isn’t solely an environmental crucial but in addition an financial one, benefiting established gamers in renewable vitality, electrical autos (EVs), sensible grid infrastructure, vitality storage, and effectivity applied sciences. Additionally, crucial minerals and metals producers are well-positioned for progress.
At the identical time, conventional vitality firms are adapting and integrating new applied sciences equivalent to bioenergy and carbon seize to remain related in a altering panorama. Evolving insurance policies have additionally opened doorways for the oil and gasoline business to contribute to the transition, leveraging their experience in managing complicated vitality methods.
Despite near-term political uncertainties, the worldwide shift towards clear vitality stays inevitable, driving long-term financial alternatives and a extra resilient vitality future.
Living 2.0
As life expectancy rises and workforce dynamics evolve, this theme explores how automation and AI-powered productiveness instruments have gotten important in offsetting labor shortages.
Longer lifespans are reshaping consumption patterns, shifting capital allocation in the direction of healthcare, leisure, and experiences to satisfy the altering calls for of an getting old society. Meanwhile, as working-age populations shrink, competitors for expertise is intensifying. This may drive wages increased and speed up funding in automation and productivity-enhancing applied sciences. Companies on the forefront of robotics and AI stand to learn as industries search modern options to labor shortages.
At the identical time, declining populations are rising the necessity for workforce reskilling, significantly as automation reshapes job markets. This pattern is creating rising alternatives for firms in training, coaching, and expertise administration—sectors that may play an important position in making ready staff for the evolving economic system.