Clear Harbor Outlook for 2023
2022 provided ample reminders that markets are driven by human forces, and can be just as mercurial. Indeed, those concerned with prospects for major asset classes in the new year must continue to scrutinize the ever-evolving steps in the monetary and economic dance as central bankers, corporate leaders and ordinary consumers—humans, all—strive to find their footing amidst various uncertainties. Still, certain trends came into clearer focus over the course of the year. The pandemic and the war in Ukraine have created, highlighted or greatly accelerated changes that are structural in nature. In some cases, such as Europe’s renewed urgency on clean energy or America’s re-shoring of certain supply chains, they may prove nothing short of tectonic. With the cost of capital no longer virtually zero, such considerations carry great weight with us as we consider how consumers, businesses, and investors will behave not just in the next four quarters, but in the years that will follow.