Name: Are interest rates set to fall?
Start: 2023-07-27T10:00:00Z
End: 2023-07-27T10:00:46.000Z
Location: BrightTALK
Rating: 4.9

At Columbia Threadneedle Investments, we invest to make a difference in your world, and the wider world. Millions of people rely on us to manage their money and invest for their future. Whatever world you want, our purpose is to help you achieve it. We do this by being globally connected, intense about research, having a responsible ethos, and a focus on continuous improvement.   

Join Anthony Willis, Senior Economist, for an in-depth discussion on the forces shaping the global economy in 2026. Despite persistent challenges, growth has remained resilient, and there are signs the cycle could be extended further through monetary policy and fiscal stimulus across major economies. Inflation has eased but continues to hover above target, creating uncertainty for central banks and interest rate trajectories. At the same time, the global backdrop is increasingly fragmented, with diverging growth and inflation trends, ongoing tariff impacts, and shifting trade alliances redefining economic relationships.
 
Policy and political risks remain front and centre as central banks navigate a delicate balance, while fiscal deficits and election-driven stimulus add complexity. Investment themes are evolving, with artificial intelligence moving from heavy capital expenditure toward monetisation, prompting investors to scrutinise capital allocation efficiency. After a strong year of returns, markets are priced for perfection, leaving little room for error.
 
Anthony will provide actionable insights on navigating these dynamics, examining the implications of tariffs, geopolitical risks, and the changing investment landscape as we move into 2026.

Market Perspectives: 2026 – Extending the Cycle

Join Eloise Robinson and Rob Plant for a deep dive into the range’s latest Sustainability Profile report. Learn more about the portfolios’ SDG revenue alignment and related stewardship activities, included milestones (instances of positive change) achieved. We’ll also assess how the portfolios stack up against key sustainability metrics, discuss performance trends and explore the outlook for economies and markets from here.

CT Sustainable Universal MAP: investing to meet the sustainability challenge

Recent tax changes have significantly affected the attractiveness of collective investments, prompting advisors to reassess the role of investment bonds in their client strategies. This presentation provides a practical refresher of collective investments and investment bonds, using examples and case studies to explore their structure, taxation, and planning implications.

What’s changed with investment taxation? And why bonds might be back

We’re pleased to invite you to an exclusive webinar exploring the evolution and future of responsible stewardship as we celebrate 25 years of reo®, our responsible engagement overlay service. This webinar will be comprised of two sessions, with time for a Q&A with our speakers at the end.

Session 1: From Niche to Necessity – The Evolution of Stewardship

Vicki Bakhshi, RI Strategist at Columbia Threadneedle, reflects on 25 years of corporate engagement and the rise of stewardship as a key investment discipline. Learn how financial materiality has consistently driven effective engagement strategies, even in volatile political and market environments.

Through real-world examples, Vicki will showcase impactful engagement approaches and offer practical guidance for navigating today’s ESG challenges - grounded in fiduciary duty and value creation.

Session 2: Shifting Supply Chains – Forced Labour as a Trade Policy Tool

Rosey Hurst, a leading expert in human rights and labour standards, explores how forced labour regulations are reshaping global trade.

Rosey will examine the growing enforcement of the U.S. Uyghur Forced Labour Prevention Act (UFLPA), its focus on electronics, automotive, and aerospace sectors, and its reflection of U.S. - China tensions. Hurst will also outline key implications for companies and investors, including supply chain restructuring and enhanced human rights due diligence.

Past, Present, and Future of Engagement: Celebrating 25 years of reo® #2

Join Keith Balmer and Rob Plant for an in-depth update on the CT Universal MAP range as we review performance and positioning through a volatile but rewarding Q2 2025. This session will begin with a macroeconomic overview, covering key market drivers including trade policy developments, inflation trends, and central bank actions. We’ll then explore how these dynamics impacted asset classes and how the CT Universal MAP portfolios responded.
With global equities rebounding and fixed income contributing positively, we’ll highlight the tactical shifts made across regions and asset classes, including increased exposure to emerging markets and high yield credit. Keith and Rob will also discuss the outlook for the remainder of the year and how the funds are positioned to navigate potential risks and opportunities.

CT Universal MAP Q2 2025 review: Navigating volatility, capturing opportunity

Join David Dudding and Andrew Harvie for a timely update on the CT Global Focus Strategy, as they unpack performance and positioning through a volatile first half of 2025 and share their outlook for the months ahead.

In this session, we’ll begin with a macroeconomic overview, examining the key forces shaping global equity markets:

Trade policy shifts and tariff impacts
Inflation moderation and central bank pivots
Sector rotation and valuation resets

We’ll then explore how these dynamics influenced the CT Global Focus strategy's positioning. With global equities rebounding—particularly in tech, industrials, and select emerging markets—we’ll highlight tactical shifts across regions.

David and Andrew will also share their outlook for the remainder of 2025, discussing how the strategy is positioned to navigate ongoing risks such as geopolitical tensions, policy uncertainty, and shifting investor sentiment—while continuing to seek out compelling opportunities.

Don’t miss this opportunity to hear directly from the portfolio managers and gain insights into how the strategy is responding to a rapidly evolving global landscape.

From volatility to value - How CT Global Focus is navigating 2025’s market turns

We’re pleased to invite you to an exclusive webinar exploring the evolution and future of responsible stewardship as we celebrate 25 years of reo®, our responsible engagement overlay service. This webinar will be comprised of two sessions, with time for a Q&A with our speakers at the end.

Session 1: From Niche to Necessity – The Evolution of Stewardship

Vicki Bakhshi, RI Strategist at Columbia Threadneedle, reflects on 25 years of corporate engagement and the rise of stewardship as a key investment discipline. Learn how financial materiality has consistently driven effective strategies, even in volatile political and market environments.

Through real-world examples, Vicki will showcase impactful engagement approaches and offer practical guidance for navigating today’s ESG challenges - grounded in fiduciary duty and value creation.

Session 2: Materiality Matters – Staying the Course Through Political Headwinds

Elizabeth McGeveran, a member of our Responsible Investment Advisory Council (RIAC), explores how financial materiality remains central to effective stewardship, regardless of political shifts.

Drawing on over 20 years of investment experience, Elizabeth will trace the evolution of materiality analysis from regional roots to globally relevant practices. Through practical examples, Elizabeth will show how companies focus on sustainability factors that drive long-term value—regardless of despite shifting narratives.

The session will cover how to identify material sustainability issues, maintain analytical integrity, and use engagement to uncover key value drivers.

Past, Present, and Future of Engagement: Celebrating 25 years of reo® #1

Join Paul Green, Adam Norris and Anthony Willis for our first webinar since the CT MM Universal range (formerly MM Lifestyle) joined our CT Universal MAP line-up.  
The session will explore strategic enhancements to the range, including the adoption of Columbia Threadneedle’s proprietary Strategic Asset Allocation model – a move that brings the funds in line with our macro house views and ensures consistency across risk profiles.
In addition, the team will provide a performance update and outline how the range is currently positioned in today’s market environment.

CT Multi-Manager Universal range: A new chapter in Multi-Asset investing

This year has been shrouded in uncertainty, with volatility evident across global markets. Following President Trump’s tariff announcements, investors witnessed falls in US equity markets, quickly followed by a significant rebound. In Europe and the UK, equities look set to reverse some of their significant underperformance against the US in the last decade. European equities are enjoying a revival thanks to macroeconomics and attractive valuations. The relaxation of Germany’s debt brake has raised yields in Europe, whilst in the US the perceived economic slowdown led to a fall in yields earlier in the year. But again, we saw a reversal following the announcement of the pause in reciprocal tariffs and concern about the level of the fiscal deficit, with spreads being increasingly tightened.

With this backdrop, please join Columbia Threadneedle Investments’ Global Chief Investment Officer, William Davies, and Head of Multi-Asset Solutions for EMEA, Paul Niven to hear how they are navigating the uncertainty and volatility, as well as the opportunities that the retracement and decoupling present to investors.

Midyear outlook 2025 – Navigating markets amidst an uncertain investment climate

Nature is increasingly a topic in the crosshairs for investors. There is growing awareness that the erosion of natural capital is creating material risks for investors, from regulatory pressures to supply chain disruptions, and that investee companies offering solutions could stand to benefit. We will explore the data tools and research approaches we are using to bring nature into fundamental investment conversations, and discuss how we see the nature investment landscape evolving in 2025.

Sustainability Research Webinar - Natural capital: nature as an investible theme

Since inception the aim of our CT Sustainable Universal MAP range, with all five funds now awarded Sustainability Focus labels under SDR, has been to meet your investment goals and make a positive contribution to a more sustainable world.  

In this session portfolio managers Eloise Robinson and Rob Plant of the CT Multi-Asset team will provide a brief macro update, before diving into more detail on the SDR labelling regime and what it means for the SUMAP range. They will also provide a reminder of the range’s sustainability approach, with some examples of the types of companies you can expect to find in the portfolios, before looking at performance and the outlook from here.

Focused on Sustainability - CT Sustainable Universal MAP range update

Keith Balmer and Robert Plant will provide insight into the team’s view of the current economic backdrop and how this is feeding into asset allocation decisions for the portfolios. They will also deliver an update on performance and positioning of our low-cost multi-asset Universal MAP ranges and will answer any questions posed by the audience.

CT Universal MAP fund range Q2 2025 update & outlook

In this topical webinar we will explore the history and background to President Trump’s tariff policies. We will consider the latest position and how tariffs are impacting on markets, consumer sentiment and trade. Finally, we’ll outline how asset managers are responding to recent markets and offer our views on advice for clients. 

Presented by Columbia Threadneedle Investments’ Senior Economist, Anthony Willis, and John Batten, Strategic & Technical Sales Manager, Adviser Edge

Learning Outcomes
By attending this webinar you will be able to:
• Explore the background to tariffs and President Trumps inspiration in using them
• Consider the current position with US Tariffs and their impacts on consumer sentiments and trade
• Consider advice for clients in the context of current markets

Trump, tariffs, trade and turmoil

Over the last twelve months, the FTSE All-Share Index has performed more strongly than the Magnificent Seven US tech stocks, the more broadly based S&P 500 index and the Nasdaq stock index. Despite this, the UK remains undervalued.
We will take a closer look at the factors which have led to UK equities being relatively unloved for so long. We’ll also argue why there are real grounds for optimism and highlight some of the opportunities we’re able to find through detailed fundamental analysis.
 
Head of UK Equities, Jeremy Smith, and portfolio manager, Dominic Younger, reflect on the latest outlook for the UK market.

UK Equities: don’t believe the doom-mongers

Join Marcus Phayre-Mudge and George Gay for their perspectives on over two decades of hybrid property investing. What shifts have they seen in the real estate landscape and how has the CT Property Growth & Income Fund’s innovative blend of listed and physical real estate helped them navigate challenges and harness opportunities. They’ll also highlight current positions and explain why they believe today’s investors are being presented with an attractive entry point into the asset class.

CT Property Growth & Income fund - 20 year special

2024 was the year of the BATMMAAN stocks. Collectively, Broadcom, Apple, Tesla, Microsoft, Meta, Amazon, Alphabet, and Nvidia became the caped crusaders of global markets, capturing investors’ imaginations and driving market performance. But with great performance comes great concentration risk, and these companies now dominate benchmarks. Combined with hidden correlations, a new era of geopolitics and ongoing macro challenges, this creates a changing dynamic for managing equity portfolios. 

In this webinar, David and Andrew will explore how to approach such an environment, why managing risk in big tech is so important, but also why diversification will be critical in the year ahead. Join us as we discuss where to find the real superhero stocks, and how Columbia Threadneedle’s approach to quality offers a resilient approach amid market uncertainty.

BATMMAAN Begins! Navigating the market’s super-stocks and the case for a differentiated approach to quality

The world has changed. The US has announced much higher tariffs than markets had expected, and has introduced massive uncertainty. The break with previous policy on Ukraine and weakening of commitment to NATO means Europe is planning a go-it-alone defence policy that implies a massive fiscal boost. Meanwhile, the UK is struggling to cut welfare spending to keep borrowing under control. Our Chief Economist, Steven Bell will discuss these dramatic changes and draw conclusions for financial markets.

Tariff Turmoil, German Rearmament: Where will it all end?

There’s turmoil in US policy, stagflation in the UK and stagnation in Europe. Join Steven Bell, Chief Economist, as he discusses the outlook for 2025 against this background and what it may mean for financial markets.

What's next for markets?

After a painful period of aggressive rate rises, US inflation is headed back towards the US Federal Reserve’s 2% target. Significant cuts in interest rates should follow in late 2023 & 2024. There’s been much less progress  in the UK but that is about to change. But recession risks remain on both sides of the Atlantic. Our Chief Economist, Steven Bell discuss this and the outlook for financial markets.

Are interest rates set to fall?

Macro Economics

Join this highly engaged community of UK financial advisers as they share peer-to-peer best practice advice. Find content related to investment and economics, better business practices, client acquisition and client referrals for financial advisors, as well as tax and pension advice. Further the engagement by presenting and participating in live interactive webinars and videos.

UK Financial Advisers

This community is for investors who work within the European market providing client and portfolio management advice. Join to learn from trusted investors on the latest trends and account strategies for delivering consistent results and long term success.

European Investors

This community is for institutional investors responsible for managing large-scale funds. Join to learn how top institutional investors are managing their organization’s shares, influencing the market, and what tips they have for successful investment strategies.

Institutional Investors

Get powerful financial planning and analytics insights for your business. Connect with experts and colleagues to get the most up-to-date knowledge and drive optimal financial performance for your company.

Financial Planning and Analysis

The accounting and finance community on BrightTALK features presentations from leading accountants and finance professionals. The accounting community includes tax planning strategies, QuickBooks webinars and other accounting webinars, while the finance community features presentations on financial capital regulations and forensic data analytics. Join the conversation by attending live financial and accounting presentations and connecting with industry thought leaders.

Are interest rates set to fall?

Presented by

About this talk

Columbia Threadneedle Investments