Standard Chartered hosted a client roundtable in Accra to discuss its Global Market Outlook for the second half of 2026, reaffirming its preference for global equities and emerging market U.S. dollar bonds while urging investors to remain diversified amid heightened geopolitical and market uncertainty.
The event formed part of the bank’s global rollout of its latest investment outlook, bringing together clients and investment specialists to examine key global trends and their implications for Ghanaian investors. Standard Chartered said it expects risk assets to remain supported by a soft-landing global economy, although investors should prepare for periods of volatility driven by oil prices, equity market supply, investor positioning and central bank policy.
Presenting the outlook, Chief Investment Officer for Africa, Middle East and Europe, Manpreet Singh Gill said investors should resist the temptation to time markets and instead maintain diversified portfolios capable of weathering short-term disruptions.
“We continue to be optimistic on equity markets and think that’s where the biggest source of returns will come from,” Gill said, noting that the bank’s preferred equity markets remain the United States and Asia excluding Japan.
He said resilient corporate earnings continue to justify the bank’s constructive stance on equities, particularly in the technology sector, arguing that current valuations are supported by underlying profit growth rather than speculative excesses. While semiconductor companies have dominated gains this year, Gill said earnings growth is expected to broaden across other sectors of the U.S. market as well as Asian markets, including China and India.
Beyond equities, Standard Chartered continues to favour emerging market U.S. dollar-denominated bonds and corporate credit over long-duration government bonds. Investors are not being sufficiently compensated for the additional risks associated with long-maturity government securities at a time when inflation uncertainty and interest-rate volatility remain elevated. Instead, the bank sees stronger opportunities in corporate bonds and emerging market dollar debt, including African Eurobonds, where yields remain attractive.
According to the bank, four key themes are expected to shape markets through the remainder of the year: oil prices, new equity issuance, investor positioning and monetary policy decisions by major central banks.
Although geopolitical tensions in the Middle East caused a sharp spike in oil prices earlier this year, strong global inventories and improved energy efficiency helped cushion the global economy from a more severe shock. We expect oil prices to gradually moderate when supply conditions normalise, although there may be periods of volatility.
The bank also forecasts a gradual weakening of the U.S. dollar as other major central banks continue tightening monetary policy while the U.S. Federal Reserve is expected to keep interest rates broadly unchanged. A softer dollar, Gill said, would provide a supportive backdrop for emerging market assets by encouraging cross-border capital flows.
Standard Chartered also maintained a positive view on gold as a portfolio diversifier, citing continued purchases by emerging market central banks as a key structural driver despite temporary selling earlier in the year to support foreign exchange reserves.
The roundtable concluded with a panel discussion on wealth creation and preservation featuring Jerry Asamba, Head of Managed Investments and Advisory; Andrew Agyaben, Head of Capital Markets Products; and Emmanuel Naboo, Head of Insurance, where executives emphasised diversification, professional portfolio management and insurance as critical components of long-term financial planning.
They emphasised diversification should be viewed as constructing portfolios that would prove resilient under different economic scenarios rather than simply holding an assemblage of numerous investment assets and encouraged investors to balance exposure across local and offshore bonds, equities, alternative assets such as real estate and gold, and multiple currencies.
The panellists encouraged clients not to leave idle cash in deposit accounts, noting that professionally managed investment portfolios can help investors capture opportunities across market cycles while reducing emotionally driven investment decisions. They also urged clients to integrate insurance into their broader investment strategies, rather than viewing it solely as protection against death, stressing that insurance should be regarded as an essential wealth protection tool that helps preserve assets, manage unforeseen financial shocks and facilitate the efficient transfer of wealth across generations.
The event was attended by senior executives of the bank, including Xorse Godzi, Chief Executive Officer, Head, Wealth and Retail Banking; Yvonne Gyebi, Head of Wealth Management; Setor Quashigah and Albert Asante, Executive Director and Chief Financial Officer, underscoring Standard Chartered’s commitment to deepening client engagement and supporting clients on their wealth journey.
Source: Standard Chartered