KKR, Glass Half Full – Outlook for 2024

Global alternative asset and private equity investor KKR has released its 2024 Global Macro Outlook report. 

The report, by Henry McVey, CIO of KKR’s Balance Sheet and Head of Global Macro and Asset Allocation (GMAA) and his team, highlights a number of key mega-themes, including:

• Industrial Automation – The report outlines that there is an emergence of an industrial automation cycle, as companies search for new ways to drive productivity and efficiency in a world where demographics and cross-border connectivity are becoming increasingly challenged.
• Security of Everything – The report was “very bullish” on this theme, noting that regulators and executives worldwide continue to prioritise the resiliency of key inputs such as energy, data, transportation, and pharmaceuticals. It also shared forecasts that governments will spend more on the intersection of climate and supply chains and on cybersecurity, especially in the financial services industry.
• Intra-Asia Connectivity – Asia, it highlighted, is becoming more Asia-centric as more trade occurs within the region, a trend it said is accelerating. It also said that it sees more countries in the region participating in and benefiting from Asia’s global growth engine.
• Labor Productivity/Work Force Development – Labor shortages were highlighted for accelerating the trend towards automation and companies focusing more on technology-driven productivity gains, especially in fields like retail, leisure and hospitality, and health care. It was also bullish on worker retraining to help employee skills better match employer demand.
• Artificial Intelligence – The report highlighted that the “most compelling opportunities” in AI are in the buildout of the physical infrastructure needed for Generative AI to scale and reach its full potential. This includes data centres, semiconductor manufacturing, power transmission, and distribution, among other areas.
• Decarbonisation – The report was also particularly bullish on the brown-to-green transition across existing corporate and government platforms. It said that these are large-scale opportunities that will allow big sectors of the global economy to become more energy efficient.

Read the full outlook report here: https://www.kkr.com/insights/outlook