Coronavirus-triggered recession will change how we live, do business and invest

The recovery from a coronavirus-triggered recession will usher in a new era in which how we live, do business and invest will fundamentally change, affirms the CEO of one of the world’s largest independent financial advisory organisations.

The comments from Nigel Green, the chief executive and founder of deVere Group, come as consensus grows that a temporary world recession is imminent and as governments and central banks scramble to try and limit the impact.

On Sunday, the U.S. Federal Reserve announced another interest rate cut on Sunday – its second emergency measure this month.

Mr Green says: “Any way you look at it, it’s now almost certain that there will be a coronavirus-triggered recession as both global supply and demand are impacted.

“We can expect this recession to be deep but short. The slowdown will be temporary because it’s not caused by deep-rooted problems and imbalances in the economy, rather by a wholly unexpected shock that’s gripped the world.”

He continues: “Every recession produces a new world. This one will too.

“A Covid-19 recession is likely to fundamentally shift how we live, do business and invest.

“We’re moving towards an era of negative interest rates. The second cut of rates, now at zero, by the Federal Reserve – the world’s de facto central bank – suggests that the U.S. could soon join peers in Europe and Japan by adopting negative interest rates.

“Zero or negative rates will help boost financial asset prices and savvy investors will be seeking to top-up their portfolios by drip-feeding new money into the market at this time. They will give more investors more reason to increase their exposure to equities as the money won’t be working for them as cash deposits.”

Mr Green goes on to say: “The coronavirus outbreak can be expected to speed up the so-called Fourth Revolution, which is fuelled by new technologies, such as Artificial Intelligence and mobile supercomputing.

“New industries will emerge and, of course, there will be winners and losers.  This will mean job losses in some sectors and huge, possibly unprecedented, job and investment opportunities in others.

“Enforced social distancing will highlight how families, friends and colleagues can interact, remain connected and work, how businesses can still efficiently operate, and how investors can manage assets via advancing digital infrastructures.”

The deVere CEO concludes: “The disruption and shifts will underscore that we live in a time of great capabilities and great promise.

“But to build and protect their wealth as the world adapts to a new era, investors should be revising their portfolios to mitigate risk and take advantage of the opportunities.”