Allocation challenges in unpredictable times

The annual gathering of Swedish institutional investors to discuss asset allocation and the outlook for 2025, which was hosted in Stockholm in December, started with the investors sharing what they see as some of the key surprises over the past year.

  CLAES AHREL: “I must of course highlight the strength of the equity market as the main surprise – especially the Nasdaq and the magnificent seven. I must also admit that I expected higher volatility during last year. Even if it increased during the second half, I think the VIX was around 15 on average and that’s quite low considering what’s going on in the world. I also expected higher energy prices. The price of Brent oil today is almost exactly where we started the year.”   CECILIA THOMASSON BLOMQUIST: “I would also say that the strength of the equity