Citi Wealth highlights four unstoppable trends, seven investment opportunities

As the midway point of 2024 approaches, Citi Wealth has provided insights into how it is positioning portfolios for the months ahead.

The firm’s mid-year Wealth Outlook suggests that the economy, and inflation slowing to 2.5% by year-end, will allow the Fed to ease its monetary policy and focus on maintaining economic expansion. However, global headwinds including supply chain disruption and geopolitics remain.

The U.S. presidential election, the report says, is unlikely to change the direction of the global economy and markets.

“We are focused on building resilient core portfolios with global diversification across asset classes,” said Steven Wieting, chief economist, chief investment strategist and interim chief investment officer for Citi Wealth. “We are encouraging our clients to stay fully invested and to complement their portfolios with high-conviction opportunistic investments.”

Markets are expecting near-term expansion and have priced this in already, so investors may find investment opportunities in U.S. small-and mid-cap growth equities along with some developed and emerging markets.  

There could also be income from intermediate, high-quality U.S. dollar bonds and sees potential in private equity, real estate and hedge funds for qualified and suitable investors.

Among the opportunistic investments the firm anticipates are:

1. Semiconductor equipment makers
2. Medical technology and life science tools firms
3. Defense contractors
4. Western energy producers
5. The Japanese yen and yen-denominated tech and financials
6. Yield curve normalization
7. Structured credit for qualified and suitable investors

UNSTOPPABLE TRENDS

Citi Wealth’s report also highlights four ‘unstoppable trends’:

1. AI – with growth potential in areas such as infrastructure, robotics and automation, drug discovery, and cyber security.
2. Energy – the transition to clean energy including those firms driving renewable energy tech.
3. Healthcare – helped by the aging population and its wealth.
4. G2 polarization – as the U.S. and China rivalries continue to intensify, global trade, geopolitics, and many investments will be reshaped.