Note: You’re reading the version 2 of this update. Reason being, most of the topics are recurring and the consensus still remains.

So to not bore you with the same details again, I’ve decided to cut those parts out and highlight the fresher ones.

I’d say this update probably might be longer than usual so I’ll do my best to deliver this in the most entertaining way I possibly can with my magic fingers 😉

But don’t worry, I’ll link them throughout this doc for your reference. Teehee ☺️✌🏻

Guess who’s back.

Back again.

Robby’s back.

Tell your friends. Actually, no. Tell everybody.

Damn… It’s been a while innit?

You already know the drill. Since you couldn’t come to the last Financial Symposium…

I’m bringing the symposium to you. With a whole lot of sauce 🥵

Now before we begin lemme give you a quick background and context.

While this Market Outlook gives an overview from a global standpoint, it focuses its attention on China, Europe and ummm…. India??

I know... but bear with me and you’ll understand why and how this is affecting your portfolio currently and in time to come.

I could have just sent you the deck but it was too technical, even for me.

So in the same old Robby’s fashion, I spent extra time to break it down while making it easy to digest.

Lace up… Big man tings… It’s time to ball.

And… here… we… gooooo!!

yeah buddy in its literal sense, Im bout to slam dunk some insights on ya.

Recession - Is it still or already happening? Are we fucked?!

Right off the bat we have something that’s been talked about a lot the past few years since covid. (Can you believe it’s almost 3 years already?)

Back in 2020 when covid lockdowns and restrictions were still lingering, ‘recession’ was the word being passed around.

Like Snoop Dogg’s blunt…

If you’ve read what I wrote about ‘The Great Reset’ and ‘Parallel Worlds’, you’d already know.

If you haven’t… come come.. It’s not too late to join the gang.

(although…where have you been all this while??)

And, or for whatever reason you still feel that money printing is fake and SG interest rates have nothing to do with the US, take a look at this from 2020 onwards.

It’s off the charts… literally.

How else do you get people to spend money that they don’t have to help boost the economy during a pandemic? 👀

Remember the BlackRock Tech Outlook Market Update?

If you noticed the highest growth is in Growth Equities. Which I also covered in the BlackRock Market Update as to why and how it can give you a slight advantage over others.

Since the giants are investing in high-growth stage companies, plus these companies are adapting to AI, you best believe these want to win.

I’m talking about dominating the market and milking them so hard it’ll turn into powder.

Again, will AI reach a saturation point or are we still early?

The answer to that will come down to how many industries and businesses within each of those industries are already adopting AI to it full capability.

High Profit = Delayed Recession?

Well… the best I can explain this is with a gif below 🌚
(I know, keep whatever comes to mind to yourself when you see this)

What happened was, during the period of lockdown and cool-off, everyone was just waiting to splurge more and more often.

Especially in the current economy back then where markets are cheap, real estate is going on discounts and fixed bank rates are better than floating rates.

That plus the stimulus given by the government to encourage spending… fam… you’d want to make it rain too 😆

But.. after getting high with all the splurging, dopamine hits fade and naturally savings will run out.

Which leads to lesser spending. And the cycle repeats.

Potato potato 🥔🍠

However, the problem is more serious for businesses because getting loans to stay afloat is harder and the chances of credit default increases.

Since this leads to slow GDP Growth, it only means one thing — Now, if anything, is even more crucial than ever to have active management in your investments.

You do not want to get caught by surprise like a deer in a headlights.

If you’ve come on board, you already know we got you with our 2MB 😉

To put it simply:

So to answer the question: Is recession coming?

There’s a reason why there’s an inconsistency between the S&P500 and the recession scenario. Time has changed.

Either we choose to adapt or be forced to. The choice is yours, my friend.

Because how is it possible for these companies to profit despite a recession?

Partly yes, it’s because of the current tech trend thanks to AI.

Ad if you’ve been following the news, you know it’s all over the place — New news is popping out left and right every other day.

But don’t stop there. Where you should be paying attention to are the ones in red 👀

Inflation - Coming down or going up?

With recession, comes inflation. These two almost always come in pairs.

Like a nut 🥜

I touched on this before in the ‘Parallel World’ outlook earlier this year.

But… if you ever wondered why is it really hard to bring inflation down. Take a look at the trinity below.

Sidebar: Ever played Fuck, Marry, Kill? Yeah buddy it be like that.

Just on a global economic scale. No pressure right? 😂

This is caused by two things:

1. Housing Inflation → Energy Inflation

2. Wages Inflation → Labour shortage

Both of this is a recipe for higher and unpredictable inflation. Distasteful, yuck.

Like your most hated beverage.. or that one time a good buddy of mine let me try a drink just to teach me a lesson (IYKYK 💀)

Hell nahh. No bueno.

I’ll give you an example: Apple iPhones and everything that comes along with producing one.

Pause and just ask yourself this question — How many times over the last 5 years has the price of iPhone increased year on year?

I’m not surprised if it’ll reach $2000 in a few years. At that price? Tim Cook better make sure it’s possible for me to kiss my girl through the phone.

Without a doubt, Apple is a market leader in within the tech industry and a trillion-dollar valuation company.

As to why they are charging you more, they are simply passing down the cost to you.

With the new iPhone 15 launch coming this September, which makes more sense:

A) Investor Mindset: Invest $1664 in Apple (based on iPhone 14 Pro Price), at $175.54 per share (based on the timestamp),

Get a cut from every single person who buys an Apple Product during/after the launch…

Or…

B) Consumer Mindset: Spend $1664, stress breathing down your neck knowing you’ll have to either work your sweaty ass off or save more money?

Asia & China - What’s Next?

Now this is where the bulk of meat is as China is still considered the second-largest economy in the world.

What’s happening to them affects the rest of the entire world too. So pay attention.

Let’s start with Asia as a whole and why it can be a better option to consider investing in it.

No sugar coating it, we’re in choppy waters and a parallel world (same same but different for west and east).

But… In any chaos, there’s always opportunity. You just need to know where to look.

“Okay so what are the opportunities then??”

Calma amigo.. here, lemme tell ya.

It boils down to these two things:

1. Better Valuations

2. Fitting in the global economy

I know.. wtf does that mean right?

Basically, Asia is in the sweet spot for growth compared to the West — Thanks to China, South East Asia & India.

And it’s due to these reasons:

• Demand: Increased urge to spend (Take my money now daddy kinda vibes)

• Unemployment & Labour Security: No job, no spending, no growth. (brothers are broke these dayz)

• Slow GDP Growth: Hovering around 3%

• Property Market: It’s getting better with credit demands (Money is flowing. And flow is good)

• Services activity: Mainly business services and manufacturing (Not the kind of service you’re thinking about 🌚*)*

Peep these two pictures below and let me know what you think about India Vs China, then read below 👀

The 3Ps Of Asia: Price, Policy, Pockets of Bags
(Uhh I mean opportunity)

Price: This is a given because it is cheaper to manufacture in Asia and it is currently lower than the historical price — “Anything just tabao”

Policy: Gearing towards 0% Inflation by playing around with the rates to stimulate growth — not necessary, just enough to keep it going.

Pockets of Opportunity: Active management to find sectors with higher growth potential.

• Renewable Energy:

  • Solar

  • Electric Vehicle

  However, these two are expensive to build. Only market leaders in these industries are able to invest resources to make this better because they can afford to do so.
  

• Industrial + Technology:

  • Tech War: Limited by sanctions between import vs in-house for both hardware and software

  • Automation: Self-driving cars and robotics — Adaptation hurdle/rate to increase market share.

  
  The faster you adapt, the more growth and market share you get, the more profits in your pocket.

Here’s a solid article on automation which deserves to be read on its own.

India as the MVP of Asia?

India’s GDP has grown 7x in the last two decades. They are not playing around.

India vs China demographic comparison: Young VS Old.

The oldies in China gotta hang up their gloves sooner or later.

And the youngin’s in India are stepping into a ripe age of technology.

Unless these old folks in China age like Tyson, they won’t be able to do much or work any longer.

And with ageing pops, guess what industry you can capitalise on or rather look into?

Yuppp you got it. Healthcare. (You did say healthcare… yes?)

Need I say more?

“But what about the Nam?”

Vietnam does has its advantage especially in the realm of supply chain redirection/shift when it comes to textile and renewables, serving as an alternative.

Yes, in streets lingo, Nam is on the roster.

But the main question is….

Will India overtake UK and China?

Investing Consensus — What you can consider

Dividend Investing Asia: Averaging 4.5% → Being defensive to catch the upside but you’ll need to stay invested.

Asia bonds:

• High Yield Bonds - Can go up to 12% but as always comes with greater risk of defaulting

• Investment Grade - Averaging around 5.5% to 6%.

Alternatively, you can also look into multi asset fund that invests in different companies working towards achieving Net Carbon Neutral - Downside, it will take time to hit carbon neutral.

Are you willing to wait 50 years to start reaping your fruits? If you are, by all means.

Couldn’t be me thooo..

Closing Notes:

With everything going sideways, instead of panicking, you should relax because our 2MB is working in your favour.

Tranquilo hombre...

That being said, the market will correct itself eventually. So use this time to continue dollar cost averaging and wait for the upswing.

You can expect to see some gainz towards the end of the year. Might be as soon as Q4.

But let’s not speculate and let the market do it’s thang ya feel me?

Businesses are banging out sale after sale after sale this coming Q4. Cop yourself some goods while you’re at it.

About AI reaching saturation… well there’s still quite an upside for you to capitalise in. So my take is, saturation won’t be anytime soon. Good thing is, you’re already in it to win.

And if you haven’t… what are you waiting for?

I’m not saying you should pour your life savings or sell your kidney to pump into the market.

No no no..

What I am saying is, be smart with where you place your money. Either lose -5% consistently through inflation or lose some in the short term to make even more on the backend when you invest.

Think about it.

Now… In case you missed it, here are all the past updates throughout this year:

• When HSBC, BlackRock & Franklin Templeton Walk Into A Room…

• Jan 2023 Recap

• IAM X HSBC Financial Symposium Parallel Worlds - 2023 Economic Outlook

• The World’s Big Red Button - Is The Great Reset Real?

• BlackRock Market Update - Technology

Annnnnnddddddd cuuuuttt!!!

Weeww… And ladies and gentlemen…

That’s a wrap for this edition of market insights 😮‍💨

Hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did creating this 🙏🏻

Thank you, from the bottom of pecs, for taking the time to read. Words can’t express how much I appreciate you for doing so.

If you find my work meaningful and beneficial, do share this with the people around you so they too can benefit from it. I promise not to take your attention and theirs for granted.

Thank you in advance for supporting the mission — to give the average folks an above-average chance to have better control over their life and a chance to change their family’s future forever.

Catch you in the next one.

Your Financial Catalyst,

RK 🥷 

P.S. - If we’ve never met before and you’re reading this, it’s because I asked for this to be sent to you. The reason that matters — If you don’t like this and all the previous articles for any reason…

The fault is mine. Not on the person who sent it.

I asked them as a favour. That way, you had inside access and a unique opportunity to get something very few people will ever have.

What’s more, if someone has given this article to you…

Know this:

I can confidently say they have your best interests at heart because they have no financial incentive to share.

Whoever they are, thank them. They are one of the good ones. You are in good company.