AI has kickstarted a fourth industrial revolution that will fundamentally change the way we work and live once more. Simultaneously, US President Trump is weaponising national economic policy and the US-China race for supremacy in AI and control of rare earths is adding further fuel to their titanic geopolitical struggle, reshaping the global geopolitical, economic and trade order. In short, immense societal and economic upheaval is upending the outlook for investment markets. It's a whole new world (again)! Markets Summit 2026 (Wed 25 Feb) will help you better understand the key drivers of and outlook for the markets and help you build better quality investor portfolios.

Despite the US economy's strong performance in 2025 which is likely to continue in 2026, it is hard to escape the conclusion that, over the medium term, Trump's decisions over the past year will expose the US to massive risks.

The global rules-based order is cracking, resulting in an increasingly complex and uncertain macro backdrop. Practitioners will need to consider information from a broader array of specialists to understand the drivers of and outlook for markets.

Investors will look back on 2025 as the beginning of the end of US exceptionalism. Practitioners must now consider geopolitics in their fundamental analysis, alongside macroeconomic and company factors.

2025 will likely go down in history as one of the most eventful, action-packed years of the 21st century. Here are 20 possibilities that should help you navigate uncertainty between now and 2031.

The future that emerges after 2025 depends crucially on the worldview we choose. Lamenting the polycrisis reinforces paralysis; embracing the polytunity encourages change.