Automation, artificial intelligence (AI) and digitisation are the top trends likely to shape the global investment market over the coming decades, according to a survey of institutional investors and family offices.
The research, commissioned by Bahrain-based alternative investment firm Investcorp, found that 95 per cent of respondents identified digital themes as the major investment trend for the future.
The majority of investors feel that the significance of automation, digitisation and AI will be especially felt over the next two decades, with meaningful progress in key industry segments to occur seven years from now.
Other trends that featured highly included an aging population (69 per cent), climate change (65 per cent), and autonomous vehicles (62 per cent).
New to the list were digital and cryptocurrencies, highlighted by 59 per cent of respondents.
Personalised healthcare and growing dominance of China also ranked high as issues which will impact the economy over the next 30 years.
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According to Investcorp, this shows that “a significant portion of respondents see them not as short-term trends, but those that are here to stay and deserving of significant attention and capital allocation”.
The findings of the annual survey, What’s Next? Investment Trends for the Future, tallies with recent research. A survey of 100 institutional investors and wealth managers commissioned by Nickel Digital Asset Management found that 82 per cent plan to increase their crypto and digital assets holdings.
The Investcorp survey, which was conducted in partnership with Mercury Capital Advisors, IMD Business School and Banque Pâris Bertrand, canvassed 84 institutional investors and family offices.
