Our diverse panel debated which of the high-conviction propositions they heard at Markets Summit 2021 resonated most strongly, which they disagreed with most - and the portfolio construction implications.

Those who cling to yesterday’s narrative may forego one of the great trades of recent decades as the world shifts to a "global reopening" narrative and away from one of "secular stagnation".

The energy transition has the potential to be as transformative for the world economy and geopolitical landscape as the digital revolution has been since the 1980s.

Often underrepresented in investor portfolios due to concerns around liquidity, private equity investing with a truly hands-on approach allows active investors to maximise their capital growth potential.

Rather than accepting lower returns for liquidity, investors should go back to the drawing board and re-assess their need for daily liquidity.

With the official cash rate near zero, it's time to head back to the drawing board to find a more consistent source of income. Private debt provides a compelling alternative source of income in a portfolio.

Fiscal stimulus and the vaccine have fuelled an extraordinary rally in equities - but, ultimately, stocks are at record highs because of extraordinarily low market interest rates. Investors should be wary of inflation, but also of being underweight equities.

De-carbonisation, company management and ESG scrutiny are diminishing the influence of commodity prices on resources alpha generation. If long term sentiment begins to turn, there is significantly more value to be found in the resources sector.

The 60/40 balanced portfolio needs to be “stretched” or redesigned, to mitigate the impact of low yields on overall portfolio risk and return. Investors need to make their equity allocation work harder and consider new diversifiers.

Covid-accelerated trends - including digitalisation, geopolitical tension and the impact of ESG on the cost of capital - are structural and divergence within equity markets could increase.

Supply chain decision makers must continue to focus on mitigating risk in 2021, not maximising growth. Political risks outbalance opportunities.

The consensus view that US equities are in a bubble is overblown. Go back to the drawing board when it comes to your views on US valuations - because this time IS different.

Pent up consumer demand, fiscal stimulus and accommodative monetary policy set the stage for a sharp global recovery. It is back to the drawing board in a high growth environment.

Structural factors will ensure that the cash rate cannot rise over the medium term, resulting in negligible cash returns. A core fixed income exposure consisting of Australian government bonds will outperform cash over the long term.

The illiquidity premium offers strong value over the cyclical horizon. A combination of interest rate, credit and illiquidity risks provide diversified fixed income exposures with attractive return potential.

The Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated profound shifts in how economies and societies operate and is transforming macroeconomic policy, geopolitics and sustainability.

It's time to construct portfolios with investment strategies designed to advance humankind towards a global sustainable economy, a just society, and a better world.

During 2020, G-REITs experienced a once in a generation demand shock. With new building supply and REIT balance sheets in good shape, G-REITs are well positioned as economies reopen and demand returns. Now is the time for G-REITs.

Believe in sustainable investing or not, investors need to understand its impact on investment returns and portfolio construction as capital markets stand on the cusp of a transformation to an ESG world.

Portfolio construction practitioners must go back to the drawing board and focus systematically on the constraints facing global policymakers, in order to successfully extract the implications for portfolios.

Scale-as-a-service cloud computing platforms allow companies - both large and small - to get their IT infrastructure up and running in minutes. Over the next decade, this will have profound implications for the global economy.

The US, Australia and their allies have long depended on global "rules of the game" for their major companies and sectors to flourish. Australia and the US will have to accept that China will play an ever greater role shaping these rules.

The herculean tug of war between stronger economic growth and higher bond yields will be the defining battleground of 2021 and will be accompanied by violent and rapid-fire recalibrations of relative valuations.

As a tumultuous 2020 neared its end, the clouds of uncertainty appeared to be parting. Successful vaccine trials raised hopes that the Covid-19 pandemic would soon be over, the US election result promised a more geopolitical- and market-friendly presidency and government, and rebounding investor confidence fuelled a dramatic rotation into value stocks. Yet that confidence is already being tested in 2021 as new Covid variants take hold, doubts emerge about the efficacy of vaccinations, and the Democrats’ Senate win stirs fears of an aggressive spending, taxation, and regulatory agenda that’s not favourable to business. The geopolitical, macroeconomic and corporate outlook remains unclear, yet stock markets continue to climb this wall of worry. It is time to pause, reflect and go back to the drawing board!

Established in 2009, Portfolio Construction Forum Markets Summit is THE investment markets scene setter of the year. The geopolitical, macroeconomic and corporate outlook remains unclear, yet stock markets continue to climb this wall of worry. It is time to pause, reflect and go back to the drawing board! Markets Summit will help you better understand the key drivers of and outlook for the markets (geopolitical, economic and asset class), and the opportunities and risks ahead, on a three- to five-year view, to aid your search for return and to help you build better quality investor portfolios.

Covid-19 has offered some tough but useful lessons about governance. Many wealthy countries have not managed the crisis as well as many poorer and vulnerable countries.