Expert Panel

Over the 12 months to February 2026, the US dollar weakened by 12.6 percent against the euro, a move mirrored across several emerging-markets currencies, including the Brazilian real, South African rand, Mexican peso and Malaysian ringgit. This currency shift has pushed managers in the Morningstar Global Bond – Diversified category toward local-currency emerging-markets debt to capture both rate differentials and currency appreciation.

Listed real estate has become one of the most conspicuous laggards in global markets. After four consecutive calendar years of underperformance against the MSCI World, valuations now sit below their historical median relative to broader equities, according to Cohen & Steers. For long-term allocators, the question now is whether this reset offers a cyclical entry point or a structural repricing.

The disruptive potential of AI has caused havoc among software companies in recent weeks.

Multi-asset benchmarks assume costless and frictionless implementation, setting a high bar for allocation funds to outperform after fees. Even so, these “one-stop-shop” solutions remain appealing for many investors.

Corporate bonds, particularly high yield bonds, had a strong 2025 but portfolio managers remain cautious going into 2026.

Local currency government bonds in Latin America and South Africa had a strong year in 2025, while major Asian countries lagged the broader market.

Sebastiaan Hooghiemstra and Marco Loria analyse fresh EU guidance on ELTIF passporting, arguing it dismantles national barriers and could unlock pan-European distribution through insurance, pension and savings wrappers.

While the average fund in the Global Large-Cap Blend Equity Morningstar category eked out a 5.8 percent gain in 2025, it was hardly an easy year for investors. Tariff turmoil, geopolitical tensions, and demanding valuations weighed on sentiment.

Risk parity investors showed renewed optimism in 2025 after several years of underperformance versus the traditional balanced portfolios.

Morningstar has refined its Japanese equity framework as persistent style dispersion forces investors to reassess growth-focused fund selection in Japan.