Investment Strategies Amid U.S. Growth Slowdown: Hanwha Asset Management and J.P. Morgan's 2026 Market Outlook

"Technological Innovation to Ease Valuation Burden"
U.S. Economic Slowdown... Growth Momentum to Shift to Other Regions
Hanwha TDF Achieves Top Three Five-Year Returns Across All Vintages

An analysis has emerged suggesting that technological innovation will help alleviate the burden of high valuations (the level of stock prices relative to corporate value) in the current stock market. There are also projections that as the U.S. economy slows in the second half of next year, growth momentum will be distributed to other regions.

On December 11, Hanwha Asset Management held a seminar with J.P. Morgan Asset Management at the CCMM Building in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, reviewing this year's performance and providing an outlook for next year's market.

Byunghee Gong, Executive Director of Hanwha Asset Management, is delivering a greeting at the 'Hanwha Asset Management X JPM 2026 LTCMA' press conference held at the CCMM Building in Yeouido, Seoul.

Byunghee Gong, Executive Director of Hanwha Asset Management, said, "It is meaningful to be here again this year with J.P. Morgan Asset Management, following last year," adding, "This event is not just about forecasting the financial market for next year, but marks the starting point for designing stable asset management for our clients."

At the seminar, Carrie Craig, Global Market Strategist at J.P. Morgan Asset Management, presented the '2026 Long-Term Capital Market Assumptions' (2026 LTCMA). The LTCMA is a research product that combines quantitative and qualitative insights from over 100 top portfolio managers, research analysts, and strategists worldwide. This outlook provides forecasts for risks and returns across more than 200 asset classes in 19 base currencies.

Craig commented, "Artificial intelligence (AI) technology will expand beyond the dominance of U.S. big tech companies to more industries and regions," adding, "The profit growth rates of Asian countries, including Korea, will become a key pillar of global market returns going forward." She predicted that such technological innovation will improve productivity and profitability, thereby easing the burden of high valuations in the stock market. She also forecast that global equity markets will show differentiated trends by region.

In the bond market, it is estimated that the normalization of interest rates will allow the 10-year U.S. Treasury yield to achieve a solid return of 4.6%. As countries around the world begin to pursue economic nationalism, active fiscal policies such as increased defense spending and strengthened energy security are expected to lead to higher government bond issuance. In the United States, strong growth momentum is expected in the first half of the year, driven by fiscal stimulus and increased AI-based facility investment, but growth is projected to slow in the second half due to the weakening of fiscal effects.

Carrie Craig, Global Market Strategist at J.P. Morgan Asset Management, is presenting the '2026 Long-Term Capital Market Assumptions' (2026 LTCMA) at a press briefing held on the 11th at the CCMM Building in Yeouido, Seoul. Hanwha Asset Management

Hanwha Asset Management, which manages pension products in collaboration with J.P. Morgan Asset Management, stated that it achieved competitive returns this year despite high volatility, thanks to disciplined diversification.

Park Hyun, Head of the Pension Solutions Management Team at Hanwha Asset Management, presented the '2025 Hanwha LIFEPLUS TDF (Target Date Fund) Performance.' Park explained, "Despite high volatility this year, we achieved improved returns compared to peers," adding, "This is the result of disciplined diversification with a focus on stable long-term performance."

The Hanwha LIFEPLUS TDF achieved top-three performance in five-year returns across all vintages. Since the beginning of the year, the 2025, 2040, and 2045 vintages ranked first in returns.

Park noted, "The correlation between stocks and bonds surged after COVID-19, but it is gradually declining," predicting, "Next year, as normalization continues, the effect of asset allocation will be strengthened."

Hanwha Asset Management acquired the onshore fund managed by J.P. Morgan Asset Management Korea in 2018. The two companies have maintained a strategic partnership to this day.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.