Capital Group

With the wreckage of 2020 in the rearview mirror, investor optimism for the new year is high. After all, how could it possibly be any worse than a year marked by a deadly pandemic, a brutal recession and one of the steepest bear markets in history?

Traditionally, defensive stocks and sectors are ones that have been able to retain value despite economic upheavals. However, 2020 has seen significant headwinds for such investments, with value and dividend stocks no longer considered safe havens.

Now that the results of last week’s U.S. elections are coming into focus, investor attention is shifting to the policy implications of a Joe Biden presidency. Bottom line: Don’t expect big, sweeping changes in the years ahead.

COVID-19 has forced economists to become students of virology.

“The virus is the economy,” says Capital Group U.S. economist Jared Franz.

Roughly six weeks ahead of pivotal U.S. elections, one thing is becoming increasingly clear: Profound policy changes are on the horizon no matter which political candidates prevail.

Veteran equity portfolio manager Claudia Huntington shares the lessons she has learned from nearly five decades of stock investing.

Companies, Anne-Marie Peterson observed early in her investing career, go through life cycle changes just like people do.

In the opening weeks of 2020, investors had very few hints of the daunting events to come in this most unusual year. Although global economic growth was slowing, there were reasons to be cautiously optimistic.

That was then. This is now.

Expect a bumpy path for U.S. markets in 2020 as the economy comes back online, followed by a more solid recovery in 2021.

If market declines make you nervous, then you’re not alone. Especially now, when COVID-19 and its economic impact are fuelling feelings of uncertainty around the world.