AI, gold and no shortage of surprises: reflecting on 2025

2025 – what a ride! Trade wars, policy resets, equity volatility… It was a year that kept us on our toes and made every client conversation feel like a front-row seat to history in the making.

Here are my highlights from an action-packed year on the road meeting our clients.

No escaping technology

The US and technology dominated discussions with clients, along with Europe and the UK, which have arguably provided an opportunity to access overseas earnings at a discount if investing in the higher-cap spectrum. In November, our Head of Equities Robert White and Head of Macro Strategy Chris Jeffery discussed this theme with clients at a lunch we hosted at the Pan Pacific Hotel.

For those of you who know me, I’m a tech addict (who hasn’t heard the story about my Robot EUFY vacuum and mop…), and in May we hosted a mini conference at the L&G offices where Slamcore* CEO Owen Nicholson was our guest speaker, discussing automated fork lift trucks. It’s a market forecast to grow from $4.84bn to $9.49bn by 2030.[1]

We believe robotics, automation and AI are important long-term themes that will continue to reshape industries and society.

ESG was also a key topic of discussions, with clients keenly aware of sustainability’s role in managing risk and driving returns. It’s increasingly seen by investors as a mainstream investment opportunity. The past 12 months were filled with rich dialogue between clients, our stewardship team and index investment specialists.

Bonds are back

Bonds also returned to focus, providing potentially attractive yields and a form of diversification[2]. L&G fixed income experts Adil Mirza and Sophia Hunt joined me and Head of Wealth Management Steve Gray at a conference where we discussed the dislocations and turning risks into opportunities. Matt Rees, Amelie Chowna and Tom Farrington also lent their expertise to many conversations about navigating the bond markets.

Inflation was a key topic for many, and earlier in the year Senior ETF Investment Strategist Tobias Merfeld and I flew out to Jersey, where we discussed this topic along with commodities.

And at the other end of the spectrum, cash still featured heavily in clients’ portfolios, and following Rachel Reeves’ budget announcement regarding the £12,000 limit for under-65s in cash ISAs I suspect money market funds will be even more sought after going forward for risk-averse investors.

Glittering prizes

The asset class of the year was gold mining as the standout performer, and it was certainly an exciting topic of discussion. Let’s hope it glitters again in 2026!

For many of our clients there was no time for sitting around this year, with the market confounding expectations and delivering plenty of change. What awaits us in 2026 remains to be seen, but if 2025 is anything to go by it could be another exciting one.

But for now, from client breakfasts and lunches to conferences, we’ve been lucky to spend lots of time with our clients this year. Soon it’ll be time to put the feet up, recharge and let the Christmas fire close out the year. Here’s to 2026!

 

*For illustrative purposes only. Reference to a particular security is on a historic basis and does not mean that the security is currently held or will be held within an L&G portfolio. The above information does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any security.

[1] Source: Grand View Research, 2025.
[2] It should be noted that diversification is no guarantee against a loss in a declining market.