CMB Monaco puts 2024 into perspective
CMB Monaco, one of the leading Private banks in the Principality, held its yearly Investment conference on January 30 © CMB Monaco
Over 200 attendees were present at the sold-out event at the One Monte-Carlo.
Aimed at seasoned investors, the highly technical conference took an in-depth look at the challenges and opportunities of 2024.
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In a brief introduction, Francesco Grosoli, CEO of CMB Monaco outlined the 3 main types of risk facing investors over the coming year:
1. Political, with 49% of the world’s population going to the polls this year, including the US and Europe, 2024 is a pivotal election year
2. Geopolitical, with 32 active conflicts in the world at present, and tensions spreading
3. Economic, as there are still uncertainties over what will happen to interest rates.
Key takeaways from 2023
2023 was a year of AI and technology, where Wall Street focused on the ‘magnificent seven’, aggressive interest rates impacted investment and growth worldwide and China’s economic growth underperformed versus expectations. Economic resilience did, however, fend off an expected recession.
Bubbles to watch in 2024
Could uninvested funds, estimated at $2.5 trillion, create a private equity bubble? Given Big Tech’s spectacular performance in 2023, will we relive the uncertainties of 2001 and 2007? How will the technology or real estate sectors cope if interest rates remain high?
The theme of this year’s conference was the power of perspective. While some might see those questions as risks, others will see opportunities.
Grosoli stressed that when it comes to investments in times of uncertainty, it is essential to balance optimism and preparedness, to diversify and to choose the right partners. Hence four of CMB’s main partners were represented by the conference’s speakers.
- Anastasia Amoroso (Managing Director & Chief Investment Strategist at iCapital), spoke of 2024 as a year for “greater investor optionality and a broader opportunity set”. Investors will be able to “look across sectors and asset classes, and beyond stocks and bonds to alternate investments,” with Federal Reserve and central bank policy tending towards lower interest rates in the next few months, before introducing the other 3 experts in a round-table format :
- Robert Seminara (Partner and Head of Europe at Apollo, also a member of the Firm’s Leadership Team
- Eric Lawson-Smith (Partner and responsible for Arma Partners’ Media, Internet, Data and Information (MIDI) practice)
- Andrea Valeri (Chairman of Blackstone Italy, Senior Managing Director in Blackstone Credit)
The outlook focused on navigating uncertainties with resilience and seizing opportunities with strategic vision. And despite the uncertainties, it looks like there could be bubbles, of the champagne variety, for those who invest in the tech sector and private markets.
Written by Sheila McCarron