We think that the development of the global economy over the next years will be determined by long-term trends, so-called megatrends. These will also be decisive for the positive or negative development of investments:

Demography: Populations and prosperity are growing in developing countries, while developed economies face ageing populations.

Globalisation: The increasing economic integration of the world continues to progress due to falling costs of information and transportation.

Complexity: Production processes, value chains and legal regulations are becoming more and more complicated. Interactive effects become less predictable.

Services: The importance of the service sector is increasing relative to other industries worldwide.

Lifestyle: The demand for products that do not serve the satisfaction of basic demands but deliver intangible values or are connected with a certain lifestyle is rising disproportionately worldwide.

Environment: The protection of the environment is becoming more and more important with regard to the rising number of people and global environmental problems such as climate change.

Disruptive Technologies: Many groundbreaking innovations are about to be used on a large scale. They will transform life, business, and the global economy. These new technologies are:

• Mobile internet
• Automation of knowledge work
• The internet of things
• Cloud technology
• Advanced robotics
• Autonomous vehicles
• Next-generation genomics
• Energy storage
• 3D Printing
• Advanced materials
• Advanced resource exploration and recovery
• Renewable Energy