Turning uncertainty into opportunity: Active diversification through Global Multi-Asset Portfolios
Our latest multi-asset perspectives highlight why active diversification matters now and how our multi-asset solutions are built to adapt as market conditions evolve.
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Navigating uncertainty
Until recently there was a relatively clear story to share with clients: easing inflation, a gradual shift towards lower interest rates, and signs of a broadening market. Now that narrative has become less straightforward, and you may have found that your client conversations have become more complex as the landscape has shifted.
Geopolitical tensions, energy price volatility, concerns over the growth outlook and the prospect of renewed inflationary pressures are adding up to a wider range of possible outcomes. In this environment, conversations with clients often extend beyond asset allocation or fund selection, focusing instead on finding clarity in the uncertainty. With that in mind, I hope these multi-asset insights help support those discussions and make them a little easier to navigate.
Global Multi-Asset Portfolios: building resilience with active management
In challenging investment environments, active management really proves its worth – combining a long-term view, selective positioning, and adaptability as conditions evolve. Alongside this, thoughtful diversification continues to play a crucial role, helping to create portfolios that can navigate volatility while capturing opportunities.
At Schroders, we focus on building resilient portfolios that are designed to deliver throughout the investment cycle. Our range of Global Multi-Asset Portfolios has been developed to meet the needs of UK advisers and your clients. Constructed to provide investors with a globally diversified, risk-mapped framework that adapts to changing conditions, they are managed using the same multi-asset views that guide all our multi-asset portfolios.
Supported by Schroders’ global research teams, they integrate top-down macro insights with bottom-up stock selection to build resilience, manage risk, and capture opportunities across asset classes. And because they invest solely in Schroders’ funds, our Global Multi-Asset Portfolios offer high-quality, genuinely active management at a passive price.
Our multi-asset views
Equities: resilience despite headwinds
Rising energy prices have clouded the inflation outlook and could delay interest rate cuts. Amid heightened geopolitical tensions, questions over global growth are adding another layer of complexity.
Nevertheless, we remain overweight in equities. Although markets are set to remain volatile, valuations have fallen and corporate earnings remain broadly supportive. However, we have trimmed some of our more cyclical exposure to reflect the risk of ongoing disruption to energy supplies.
Our positive view of US equities has not changed. Historically, US markets have remained resilient during periods of high oil prices, and the economic outlook continues to be underpinned by solid earnings growth and healthy consumer spending.
Bonds: balancing act
We remain cautious on government bonds. Political uncertainty and higher energy prices have reignited concerns over inflation, undermining scope for rate cuts and limiting potential returns.
Our outlook on corporate credit has shifted from neutral to negative. Credit spreads, particularly in US investment grade debt, no longer offer adequate compensation for rising macroeconomic risks.
Commodities: evolving the allocation
We have moved to a more constructive stance on commodities following the recent rise in oil prices, having previously taken profits on the initial spike. We are neutral on oil and industrial metals: oil remains driven by geopolitics in the near term, while softer growth expectations are likely to weigh on demand for industrial metals.
We continue to favour gold as a diversifier in an uncertain environment, supported by sustained central bank demand, particularly from emerging markets. At the same time, we are adding exposure to agriculture, where geopolitical pressures and weather-related risks are likely to tighten supply dynamics through the rest of the year.
Schroder European Fund: Europe – without the noise
The Global Multi-Asset Portfolios leverage the very best of Schroders – actively managed, quality fund at an exclusive price. Let’s zoom in on one of the underlying funds with Investment Director Simon Corcoran.
The Schroder European Fund gives the Global Multi-Asset Portfolios diversified exposure to Europe’s expanding – yet sometimes overlooked – equity opportunities. Introduced to the range in May 2025, the fund pursues an active, high-conviction, research-driven approach, providing Schroders’ multi-asset investors with a European source of alpha.
Spanning Europe’s developed markets, our team of 10 dedicated European analysts cover a universe of approximately 200 companies, feeding their best ideas into a concentrated portfolio of roughly 65 stocks. The manager’s unconstrained style encompasses opportunities from deep value to high growth, allowing the portfolio to adapt as the investment cycle evolves.
Europe’s equity markets are broadening with renewed potential emerging among medium-sized and smaller companies, particularly in the Nordic countries and Germany. These countries benefit from robust capital markets, healthy IPO activity, and structural investor support. The fund is selectively overweight Sweden and Germany, tapping into sectors such as defence, which is increasingly seen as an intrinsic part of the unfolding technology story.
The result is a high-conviction portfolio that balances discipline with flexibility, offering targeted access to Europe’s evolving recovery story while actively managing risk. In today’s complex environment, this active approach remains central to building durable portfolios designed to deliver over the long term.
Active resilience
In today’s complex markets, resilience and flexibility are more important than ever. Our Global Multi-Asset Portfolios are designed to navigate uncertainty, balancing active insights, disciplined risk management, and long-term conviction to help your clients remain on course, whatever the future holds.
Click here to find out more about the Schroder Global Multi-Asset Portfolios. Alternatively contact your usual Schroders’ representative or call our Business Development Desk on 0207 658 3894.
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