In this e-mail, Dr Shane Oliver, AMP’s Chief Economist, looks back over the 2008 year and provides his outlook for 2009. Without putting too fine a point on it, 2008 has been a dreadful year; firstly in stock markets and now in the wider economy, as confidence and employment continue to fall. Whilst he notes that the outlook for 2009 is bleak, he also points out that history shows us that there are great opportunities for long term investors. This was recently supported by David Cassidy, a strategist at UBS, who indicated that the market has the opportunity to re rate over the next 12 months with a ‘40% return a reasonable expectation’.

Click here to read the full article by Dr Oliver.

Wishing you and yours a very safe and happy Christmas and New Year.

From the Wealth Management team