While ‘Keep Calm and Carry On’ has perhaps been the most apt mantra for investors over the past year, the pandemic has clearly had a profound impact on the investment landscape. The global spread of the virus has prompted a seismic shift in public behaviour and investors need to consider the implications of these changes when evaluating future prospective investment opportunities.

Socioeconomic trends

Although in many ways the pandemic has actually slowed down the pace of our daily lives, it has also dramatically accelerated a number of socioeconomic trends that have been bubbling away for years. Perhaps the most obvious example of this relates to the world of work, with the shift to increasingly flexible working practices that had been evident for the last few decades suddenly receiving a turbo boost over the last year.

Digitalisation

Another key trend accentuated by the pandemic has been the increased focus on digitalisation. The massive growth in e-commerce, for instance, has resulted in those businesses with superior online offerings gaining greater competitive advantage. Noticeably, the shift to online shopping has been evident across the age range, as older consumers most at risk from the virus increasingly turned to e-commerce in order to avoid leaving home.

Socially responsible investing

While the concept of ethical investing has been around for decades, the pandemic has reinforced the immediate importance of sustainability and corporate governance issues. During a difficult year, greater focus has perhaps inevitably been placed on ‘wellbeing’ and how businesses treat both their employees and suppliers. As a result, sustainability and governance issues have been propelled up the corporate agenda.

Keeping up with the trends

We have always been keen to embrace technology, both with our clients and also behind the scenes. The pandemic has definitely pushed this even further, especially when it came to seeing our clients and face-to-face appointments were not able to go ahead. Our team were quickly brought up-to-speed with the various video calling platforms which enabled us to see our clients virtually from the comfort of their own homes and on an application they were familiar with. While we would always prefer to see our clients in person, virtual meetings will continue to be an option even when restrictions end, should this be a convenient alternative for clients.

In the past, "ethical investing" was a niche concern but increasingly as consumers become aware of the potential difference they can make with their money, more and more clients are asking about what choices they have. If you are interested in ethical (values-based) investing, we will have an in-depth discussion to determine what is important to you. We can then use the results in a screening process to give us a range of options to consider how we can help you achieve your financial goals in a way that also matches your values. Please see our page on ethical investing if this is something you would like to find out more about.

The value of investments can go down as well as up and you may not get back the full amount you invested. The past is not a guide to future performance and past performance may not necessarily be repeated.