HUB Retirement & Private Wealth recently hosted its 2026 Mid Year Investment Roundtable, a gathering of senior investment professionals from Acadian Asset Management, Allspring Global Investments, and Ashmore Investment Management. During the Roundtable, the panelists discussed a range of topics including their views on the macroeconomic environment in the U.S. and around the globe, investment opportunities across regions and asset classes, and risks that investors should consider in the second half of 2026. The distinguished panelists were:

• Ram Thirukkonda, CFA, CAIA – Senior Investment Strategist, Acadian Asset Management (Acadian)

• Matthias Scheiber, Ph.D., CFA – Head of Multi-Asset, Allspring Global Investments (Allspring)

• Gustavo Medeiros, CFA – Global Head of Research, Ashmore Investment Management (Ashmore)

• Brian Collins, CFA – Chief Investment Officer at HUB Retirement & Private Wealth (moderator)

Here is a summary of their comments. 

Outlook for the Second Half of 2026

Halfway through what has been an interesting 2026 across the globe, the consensus view of the panelists was that the global economy and investment markets are in relatively good shape but do have some risks to be mindful of. The spurts of volatility caused by the Iran Conflict or the evolving AI story created opportunities for investors to broaden their portfolios beyond what had been a more concentrated market environment for many. Looking ahead, the panelists were optimistic that conditions should remain favorable across many markets and will reward more active investors.

• Scheiber (Allspring) provided a great foundation for the discussion, stating that his team remains constructive but not complacent. They see resiliency in the U.S. economy with more volatility around inflation. The labor market is strong and can support the additional growth fueled by increased CapEx spending on AI related themes.

“We remain constructive but not complacent. We see resilient growth, especially in the U.S. We do see stickier inflation probably and the narrow policy runway as a consequence. Compared to the beginning of the year, we remain constructive that the economy can avoid a hard landing.” — M. Scheiber (Allspring)

• Thirukkonda (Acadian) noted that while the outlook for the U.S. has improved, his team is expecting stronger gains in other equity markets, particularly in emerging markets. Earnings growth in many non-U.S. countries is higher than the U.S., with more favorable monetary and fiscal conditions.
• Medeiros (Ashmore) built on Thirukkonda’s comments, highlighting that many emerging market economies have higher expected GDP growth and lower expected inflation compared to the U.S. and other developed markets.

Changing Global Markets

A common thread woven through the Roundtable discussion was the impact of changing global markets. With each participant having a more global perspective, it was interesting to hear how they each see shifts in the relationships and connectivity between economies. In their views, while economies remain connected, their fiscal and monetary policies are increasingly focused on what is best for their economies and less reactive to how the U.S. or EU is responding to events.

• Thirukkonda (Acadian) introduced the topic of regionalization versus globalization by illustrating how there is less coordination of monetary policy now than 10-15 years ago. Countries are operating at different points on the inflation / deflation cycle which influences both monetary and fiscal policies. What works for one economy may be the opposite of what another economy needs currently. This is impacting investment markets and making active management more important.
• Medeiros (Ashmore) in his follow-up comments, he referred to the post-pandemic responses of the developed economies versus the emerging economies. Developed economies introduced massive stimulus measures that led to big increases in inflation that are still being dealt with. Many emerging economies had less capacity for big stimulus and avoided some of the inflation after effects by tightening interest rates earlier than their developed peers. The impact has been stronger GDP growth in many emerging economies more recently.

“There are always a lot of different macroeconomic policy dynamics and economic drivers across very diverse countries which explains why the vast majority of active managers in emerging markets outperform the benchmark.” — G. Medeiros (Ashmore)

AI Investment and CapEx Spending

The impacts of the AI investment boom were another theme during the Roundtable discussion. The massive level of CapEx spending has driven companies, industries, and markets to new record levels of growth while also beginning to raise questions about the sustainability of the spending and the returns needed to justify the investments.

• Scheiber (Allspring) was the first to highlight both the positive impact AI related CapEx has had on global growth and equity markets but also the concern that is creeping in around overcapacity and the risk that prices begin to fall.
• Thirukkonda (Acadian) also pointed to the positive impact the spending has had on many emerging market economies that are critical parts of the global supply chain. He noted that the fiscal and monetary policy actions taken earlier in the decade have provided a strong foundation for this new phase of economic growth.
• Medeiros (Ashmore) added that the many emerging market economies tied to the CapEx spending cycle are better positioned should there be a deceleration in the growth trajectory due to their improved fiscal and monetary policy making.

Asset Allocation

In each Roundtable discussion, panelists share their views on the range of opportunities available to investors in the current market environment and the factors to consider. As might be expected given their more global orientation, allocating more broadly was a common view.

• Scheiber (Allspring) reiterated that his team was constructive on the markets and favored growth assets. They seek to take advantage of the broadening of the equity markets in the U.S. and around the globe. Mindful that concentration risk is not limited to the U.S. equity markets, he suggested investors broaden out their portfolios and introduce more diversification, particularly beyond traditional bonds.
• Thirukkonda (Acadian) noted the shift in equity return drivers has shifted more recently from multiple expansion to earnings growth which he viewed as more sustainable for future return enhancement. This has also helped to bring more breadth to equity markets, which creates more opportunities for active managers across regions, sectors, and companies, as well as in style and market cap segments.

“When equity returns are driven by earnings, that is a much more robust base for you to work off. It’s not just speculative multiple expansion. You are getting earnings here that actually matter.” — R. Thirukkonda (Acadian)

Risks to Consider

At the end of each Roundtable, the panelists are asked to highlight risks that they believe are overlooked in the current environment.

• Medeiros (Ashmore) pointed to two risks that could become more prominent. First are currency valuations. He noted current valuation levels may need to realign as growth rates and inflation levels shift across countries. His other risk is investors are not as diversified within their portfolios as they may need to be if inflation trends shift among inflationary and deflationary markets.
• Scheiber (Allspring) took a longer-term perspective and focused on fiscal sustainability. While growth from AI and other drivers is positive for economies, how the growth is being financed is a greater risk, particularly in economies that already have a massive debt burden.
• Thirukkonda (Acadian) identified the risk of concentration within the portfolios. He noted that there are many opportunities available as market breadth has increased and investors with more concentrated portfolios are at risk of missing these.

Summary of Roundtable Panelist Views

Over the course of the discussion, our panelists’ comments focused on the following themes:

The U.S. economy remains on solid footing but will continue to face challenges relating to inflation and monetary policy. Many overseas markets have good growth momentum and provide attractive opportunities to investors to diversify their portfolio risks.

AI related CapEx spending has created new sets of winners that will face questions about their ability to sustain the level of spending while realizing the expected return on investment.

Global economies are increasingly becoming more de-coupled through fiscal and monetary policy decisions that are more focused on their domestic economies.

A sincere thanks to the panelists and their firms for their contributions to the HUB Retirement & Private Wealth Mid Year 2026 Investment Roundtable. Their participation is greatly appreciated.

The views expressed are those of the presenters as of July 17, 2026 and are subject to change at any time.

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