Standard Chartered CIO favors equities, African Eurobonds for 2026 H2
Manpreet Gill, Chief Investment Officer for Africa, Middle East and Europe at Standard Chartered, said the first half of 2026 reinforced the importance of staying disciplined, diversified and invested despite geopolitical tensions and a spike in oil prices that saw global and Asian equities gain around 10%. For the second half of 2026, he favors global equities, corporate bonds and emerging market dollar bonds, especially African Eurobonds, which offer attractive yields relative to risk, and maintains an overweight position in gold as a hedge against geopolitical uncertainty and a source of structural demand from emerging‑market central banks. Gill expects the recent US dollar strength, driven by geopolitical uncertainty and expectations of higher‑for‑longer US interest rates, to fade as inflation moderates, which would ease pressure on the naira, improve capital inflows and help contain imported inflation for Nigeria and other emerging markets. He warns that a stronger‑than‑expected US labor market could rekindle inflation, keep rates high and strengthen the dollar, posing a risk to African assets. His advice to investors is to stay diversified, stay invested, focus on long‑term fundamentals, be selective after recent gains and monitor US labor and inflation data for clues on Federal Reserve policy.