The 10th annual Tomorrow Investment Summit, hosted by Old Mutual Investment Group (OMIG) this week, saw agreement on the defining view that global markets are entering an inflection point era that most investors will not have seen before. This is with the end of cheap global capital, globalisation and the peace dividend as we face an increasingly uncertain future – presenting increasing opportunities for emerging markets.
The summit, which convened leading economists, investors, and business thinkers under the theme “Through Triumph and Disaster” inspired by Rudyard Kipling’s timeless poem If, explored critical themes that illustrate how resilience, diversity, and foresight can guide investors through a new era of disruption and opportunity.
Opening the summit, Head of Client Management Sne Dlamini emphasised that resilience is not only about weathering volatility, but also about diversity of perspective. “Never before have Rudyard Kipling’s words resonated so strongly than in the time we’re currently living through,” she said. “If I look back over the past 10 years that I’ve been part of the Tomorrow Investment Summit and its corresponding publication, it really does feel like the swinging of a pendulum; on the one side unmitigated disaster, and on the other side we’ve seen signs of triumph. The key for investors amid the disruption of this environment is adaption.”
In a dynamic panel on global investment strategy, panellists explored the “end of an era” for global markets - marked by the close of 40 years of low inflation, low rates, and relative geopolitical calm.
Old Mutual Investment Group Head of Equities Research Meryl Pick warned that what has shaped the past 40 years is unlikely to define the next. ‘Rising global debt levels are shifting the economic order and prompting investors to reprice risk, with the US currently spending more on debt interest than on defence,” she explained.
The decline of globalisation, alongside resurgent regionalism and higher security costs, is creating a world where inflationary pressures and political fragmentation could persist, leading to an increased need for investors to adapt their strategic framework for the scale of inflection facing us on the horizon.
“Investors who understand history will recognise that we’re in the early stages of a structural shift - one where diversification, valuation discipline, and real assets matter more than momentum and narratives,” added Pick. “Throughout history, we’ve seen the Spanish give way to the Dutch, who gave way to the United Kingdom, who gave way to the United States. Will this be the decade where we see global power dynamics shift from the US to the East and when this happens, how will global investors adapt?”
Also speaking on the panel, Old Mutual Investment Group’s Chief Investment Officer Siboniso Nxumalo highlighted that, in this environment, emerging markets – including South Africa – have “become the adults in the room, given that they are less indebted and are far more fiscally conservative compared to their free spending and somewhat reckless developed market peers.
“This could be the decade where we see emerging markets finally emerge, as they remain poised to outperform developed peers over the coming decade, buoyed by attractive real yields, stronger fiscal management, and commodity tailwinds,” he said.
Nxumalo reinforced the belief that we are reaching an inflection point, if we haven’t already reached it. “With the gold price reaching unprecedented levels, we’re heading into an environment that will serve as an uncomfortable reminder that we are in a new investment age,” he warned.
“We are at a juncture where markets are starting to change, and we are starting to see signs of a structural shift in global markets. In 10 years’ time, when we look back at this period, this could be the point when market dynamics really started to change - the price of capital, the value of short duration assets and the value of intangible assets versus tangible assets.”
In his keynote address, Eskom Chairman, Dr Mteto Nyati, underscored the critical need for Africa to make itself relevant within this environment. “The strategic importance of critical minerals - such as chrome, manganese, and copper - in powering both the renewable energy and AI revolutions, ideally positioning the continent to capitalise on the current shifting global dynamics.
“South Africa is already hosting major data centre investments from global tech giants like Amazon, Microsoft, and Google, reinforcing Africa’s potential to play a central role in the digital and energy infrastructure of the future.“
Technology and energy are no longer separate value chains - they’re converging,” he added. “Africa’s mineral wealth, growing digital capacity, and youthful population position it as a key contributor to global sustainability and innovation - if we manage these resources responsibly.”