For much of the past forty years, investors enjoyed a remarkably favourable environment. Interest rates generally moved lower, global trade expanded, inflation remained subdued, technology improved productivity, and major geopolitical conflicts were relatively contained.
Those conditions shaped more than markets — they shaped investor expectations. Many came to believe that globalisation would continue indefinitely, that central banks could smooth out almost any economic setback, and that technological progress would keep inflation low while lifting corporate profits. That world produced exceptional investment returns.