The Big Government theme cuts across and influences many of our other themes. In thinking about the future and searching for thematic tailwinds it is becoming much more important to understand the long-term priorities of governments. 

There is definitely a sense of change in the air. The payments sector as such, will continue to see attractive growth for at least another 5 years, and likely for the rest of this decade.

The outlook for the payments industry is today less clear than it was 5 years ago. Changed consumer preferences and new, more agile competitors have changed the competitive landscape.

Is it possible to reach the target of net zero emissions of greenhouse gases by midcentury?

Moore’s Law has been one of the most important drivers of productivity and economic growth over the last 50 years.

The Cloud will be the foundation for the digital transformation of enterprises as we enter the Second Machine Age. Information technology leveraging a Cloud infrastructure is becoming a central and strategic priority for most businesses. This is a fundamental change that will play out over many years.

The roll-out of 5G is the most visible battle ground in the new US-China Tech War. Chinese companies have, through very large investments, gained the upper hand and today dominate the standards that will guide the development of future mobile networks globally.

The underperformance of European equities over the last decade has been massive. We believe this is attributable to both the composition of equity markets with Europe having a deficiency in large cap growth companies as well as the severe underperformance of its banks.

We are today observers of a tectonic shift of power and an ongoing re-appraisal of how traditional politics, economies, security pacts, and societal relationships are going to be disrupted. The old world order is being dismantled and a new one is being created.

How do demographics impact real interest rates and the equity markets?