Gill: Diversification, Long-term Focus Keys to Survive Markets Volatility

The first half of 2026 served as a potent reminder of fundamental investing principles, emphasizing diversification and resilience amid market volatility. Despite geopolitical tensions and oil price spikes, global equities recovered swiftly, delivering strong returns of around 10 percent for both global and Asian markets. Manpreet Gill, Chief Investment Officer for Africa, Middle East & Europe at Standard Chartered, highlighted that emotional reactions to short-term events seldom yield optimal outcomes, with disciplined investors being rewarded.

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The first half of the year was a powerful reminder of why the core principles of investing matter. We often talk about diversification, resilience and staying invested during periods of volatility, and this year demonstrated exactly why those principles are so important.

For the latter half of 2026, Standard Chartered's investment strategy centers on three key themes. The firm continues to favor global equities, citing resilient corporate earnings growth beyond the technology sector. They view market pullbacks as opportunities to increase exposure rather than reasons to divest. Additionally, attractive income generation opportunities are identified in corporate bonds and emerging market dollar bonds, particularly African Eurobonds, where investors are seen as adequately compensated for risk compared to developed market government bonds.

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For investors, the biggest takeaway is that reacting emotionally to short-term market events rarely produces the best outcomes. Those who remained diversified and stayed invested were ultimately rewarded.

Diversification remains paramount, with an overweight position maintained in gold and other alternative assets. The United States and Asia are identified as the strongest equity markets, with the US benefiting from broad-based earnings momentum. While recent gains in Asia have been concentrated in Korea and Taiwan, the outlook suggests a broadening opportunity across the region, including Japan and other emerging Asian markets. This points to an expected wider participation in the equity rally during the second half of the year.

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First, we continue to favour global equities because corporate earnings growth remains resilient, not just within the technology sector but across major global markets.

Regarding currency movements, Gill noted that the recent US dollar appreciation is attributed to short-term factors like geopolitical uncertainty and monetary policy expectations. Standard Chartered anticipates these factors will gradually diminish, suggesting a potential weakening of the dollar over time as inflation continues to moderate.

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Compared with developed market government bonds, we believe investors are being well compensated for the level of risk they are taking.