Change is coming – but your investment approach should stay the same
High inflation, extreme market volatility, populations at loggerheads. Things are changing fast, says Merryn Somerset Webb. But for investors, the usual rules apply: look for long-term resilience at a reasonable price


It’s forecasting season. The MoneyWeek inboxes are fast filling up with everyone’s views for 2022. This is, of course, mainly for entertainment and attention-grabbing purposes. As John Authers notes on Bloomberg, in the long term you can be pretty sure that stockmarkets will track economic growth. In the shorter-term, however, you can be sure of nothing.
Average market returns knock around 6%-8% a year. But in a single year you hardly ever get the average: the most common result is between 10% and 30% – and a loss of 20% is more likely than a 0%-10% gain. Yet most analysts opt for end-of-2022 targets about 8% above wherever the S&P 500 is when they write the forecast. That probably feels safe – but judging by history, almost certainly wrong. It might be better for analysts to skip the faux precision and simply bet on “up a lot” or “down a lot” – on something extreme rather than something average happening.
One group that does so is Saxo Bank: every year for the last 20 years, it has released Ten Outrageous Predictions – not forecasts as such, but outlier possibilities others aren’t quite brave enough to put on paper. To hear the lot, listen to next week’s podcast (with Steen Jakobsen, Saxo’s chief investment officer). But the key theme behind all the 2022 predictions is “revolution” – the idea that there is so much friction building across the globe, between rich and poor, young and old, inflation and deflation, the rentier class vs the working class (as in, people who actually work), women vs men, and ESG vs (for example) the need to supply the world with cheap but green energy, that something has to change. Most people, says Jakobsen, reckon 2022 will see a return to a pre-pandemic market “normal” (low inflation, low interest rates, high returns). But all these touch points suggest something else – that we are much closer to major change than to “more of the same”.
Subscribe to MoneyWeek
Subscribe to MoneyWeek today and get your first six magazine issues absolutely FREE

Sign up to Money Morning
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
What might that mean? One prediction I suspect MoneyWeek readers will not think outrageous is this: “US inflation reaches above 15% on wage-price spiral”. For now, says Saxo’s Christopher Dembik, Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell believes millions of Americans will give up on the Great Quit (they’ve been leaving the workforce in droves) and return to fill some of America’s 10.4 million open positions. “But this is plain wrong.” The pandemic has fuelled “a great awakening of workers”. They feel empowered to “demand a better experience” – better conditions, pay, perhaps even a sense of purpose. Given the labour shortage (and falling birth rates) they have the power to get at least some of what they want (as they do in the UK).
Add that to supply-side inflationary pressures (it’s easy to order stuff on Amazon in a semi-lockdown, it’s harder to make and deliver it) and to rising energy prices, and it isn’t ridiculous (maybe not even outrageous) to suggest that US inflation could be into double figures by the end of next year. The Fed may be on top of this. But it probably isn’t – in which case expect extreme volatility in all equity and bond markets. What do you do about all this? The usual. Look for long-term resilience at a reasonable price; hold a little gold; have broad commodity exposure; hold some cash for its optionality (if the extremes of next year involve major market moves down, you can buy) and hope for the best. Perhaps start with this week's magazine, where Richard Beddard looks at UK stocks to buy and hold.
Sign up for MoneyWeek's newsletters
Get the latest financial news, insights and expert analysis from our award-winning MoneyWeek team, to help you understand what really matters when it comes to your finances.
Merryn Somerset Webb started her career in Tokyo at public broadcaster NHK before becoming a Japanese equity broker at what was then Warburgs. She went on to work at SBC and UBS without moving from her desk in Kamiyacho (it was the age of mergers).
After five years in Japan she returned to work in the UK at Paribas. This soon became BNP Paribas. Again, no desk move was required. On leaving the City, Merryn helped The Week magazine with its City pages before becoming the launch editor of MoneyWeek in 2000 and taking on columns first in the Sunday Times and then in 2009 in the Financial Times
Twenty years on, MoneyWeek is the best-selling financial magazine in the UK. Merryn was its Editor in Chief until 2022. She is now a senior columnist at Bloomberg and host of the Merryn Talks Money podcast - but still writes for Moneyweek monthly.
Merryn is also is a non executive director of two investment trusts – BlackRock Throgmorton, and the Murray Income Investment Trust.
-
How taking a two-year career break could leave a £26k hole in your pension
Career breaks are increasingly common but it is important to take steps to protect your pension, as gaps compound over time
-
Cash in on your attic: Thousands could be sitting dormant in your storage
Selling your valuables at auction could be far more lucrative than you think. We take a look at how auctions work, and some tips to help you maximise your profits
-
Will Comstock crash – or soar?
Opinion The upside for Comstock, a solar panel-recycling and biomass-refining group, dwarfs the downside, says Dominic Frisby.
-
'As AGMs go digital, firms must offer a new form of scrutiny for shareholders'
Opinion Technology has rendered big AGM meet-ups obsolete, but the board still needs to be held to account, says Matthew Lynn
-
Unilever braces for inflation amid tariff uncertainty – what does it mean for investors?
Consumer-goods giant Unilever has made steady progress simplifying its operations. Will tariffs now cause turbulence?
-
Two ways to tap into monopoly profits from airports
Most investors can’t get their hands on airports. Here are two ways you can
-
Fat profits: should you invest in weight-loss drugs?
The latest weight-loss treatments could transform public health and the world economy. Should you invest?
-
How investors could profit from Ramsden Holdings' four-part growth strategy
Ramsdens Holdings offers a diversified set of financial and retail services and a juicy yield, says Dr Michael Tubbs
-
How to invest in the booming insurance market
The insurance sector is experiencing rapid growth after years of stagnation. Smart investors should buy in now, says Rupert Hargreaves
-
Out of America's shadow: Why Trump's tariff chaos may be good for non-US stocks
Opinion Upending global investment and trade could benefit other countries at the expense of the US market, says Cris Sholto Heaton