Markets and economies have had a pretty dire few years and as soon as one problem disappears a new one seems to emerge. This means investors have to try to navigate the problems and find the safer places, but it also creates opportunities, especially for more adventurous and longer-term investors. Often, some of the best bargains and investments are to be had when sentiment is poor.
So among the investment themes that seem to be presenting themselves there are two value opportunities with China and Europe, while for more cautious investors equity income and certain bond funds still offer good prospects.
CHINA:
A key concern this year has been a possible slowdown in China. Along with the rest of Asia and emerging markets China failed to decouple from the west during the financial crisis and has fallen significantly from year-on-year double-digit gross domestic product (GDP) growth to strong single-digit growth. The drop in the rate of growth in China caused fears that the bubble would burst.