At a time of global uncertainty, diversifying your investments across regions and sectors remains the best way to protect your portfolio, says Liz Ann Sonders

The year 2025 began on a note of buoyancy. Fresh off the back of the US Presidential election, equity markets were roaring, fuelled by optimism that deregulation and tax cuts would propel Wall Street profits. Inflation was forecast to drift back down to the two per cent target of the US Federal Reserve (Fed), prompting hope that the Fed could shift back to an easing bias.

This upbeat outlook was abruptly challenged in April, when the Trump administration unveiled a sweeping new tariff policy that rattled global markets. Although investor reaction has become more muted with each new development since, the uncertainty has continued to linger. Many of the fair winds the markets anticipated have yet to materialise, giving way instead to a challenging macroeconomic and geopolitical environment.

These........

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