Munich Finance Forum

The Corona pandemic has changed the world – people often talk about a caesura. Against the background of the new experiences in professional and private life during the pandemic, we can already assume that people will permanently change their consumption preferences. The world of work will foreseeably contain new usages. Some business models will not survive in the economy, while new ones will emerge. In addition, the enormous fiscal bailouts by governments and the once again massive injection of liquidity by central banks to stabilize the economy and markets during the global lockdowns have fundamentally altered government debt balance sheets and the entire macroeconomic fabric.

We are thus on the way to a new regime, which is sometimes referred to as the “new reality.” This will be accompanied by changes in the investment framework, especially as aspects of sustainability are increasingly incorporated into investment policies. After many years of largely stable prices, a significant impact on the markets could come from burgeoning inflation expectations. This would particularly affect the bond markets, which are essential in institutional investment portfolios. In any case, the changed reality of life, combined with shifts in individual preferences, will also have a significant impact on the earnings potential on the stock markets.