MACRO PULSE
2026 Outlook: Charting the Year Ahead

As investors look to 2026, markets are defined by tension. Our Global Market Strategy team shares their outlook.

     

From the Global Market Strategy Team: How a U.S. government shutdown hits the strategist desk Get Our Insights >

     

Smart insights drive stronger portfolios

We leverage proprietary research and collaborate with investment teams across New York Life Investment Management to offer timely answers to the questions facing investors today in key areas:

     

        

Macro Pulse

Get the latest global, economic, geopolitical, and asset allocation views

   

   

Total commercial vessel crossings through the straight of hormuz

Q1 2026 earnings season for U.S. equities showed a level of strength normally seen in an immediate post-recession recovery. 

   

  

Read Macro Pulse Report: Dog Days, Data Shifts                         

  

    

Q1 Earnings Season: Strength Before Resilience is Tested

The market broadened, but profitability leadership still matters. On Market Matters, Julia Hermann and Sarah Hirsch discuss Q1 earnings, AI-related capex, margin resilience, and the risks that could make the earnings picture less uniformly positive from here.

Strong Earnings, Untested Risks

Q1 earnings season delivered unusually strong results, with broad-based earnings growth and resilient margins despite geopolitical and energy-related pressures. In this Market Insights video, Julia Hermann discusses why broadening earnings growth and continued tech leadership can coexist, and what rising input costs could mean for sector positioning and diversification.

    

   

   

Geopolitics & Politics

Understand why geopolitics matter more today and how investors can adapt

Key investor questions:

  • How is the geopolitical landscape different today?
  • How can investors account for geopolitical risk?
  • What are the risks that would most disrupt consensus? 
Geopolitics world map

   

     

   

Megatrends
Make the future state tangible for investing today

2025 | Trust or Bust: The Next Era of Global Debt Sustainability

The choices governments make will shape long-term capital markets assumptions around inflation, interest rates, and potential growth; and will influence asset allocation.

A global debt sustainability framework:

        

     

Private Markets

Navigate the next phase of global private markets

Key investor questions:

  • How does an extended but maturing private markets cycle change where investors should be selective across private equity, private credit, real estate, and real assets?
  • Where are the most compelling opportunities as policy support, easing financial conditions, and elevated long-term rates reshape valuations, deal activity, and underwriting discipline? 
  • How are global transitions such as AI, digitization, electrification, and supply chain reconfiguration creating long-term, capital-intensive opportunities across private markets?

 

Prospective investors should be aware that investments in private funds or alternative investment strategies are suitable only for qualified investors who do not require liquidity and who can bear the economic risk, including the potential for a complete loss, of their investment. Investors are encouraged to consult their tax or legal advisors before making such investments.

 


Video: Private Markets Outlook - Extending the Cycle

     

   

About Global Market Strategy 

Our team of market strategists connects macroeconomics to asset allocation. We provide actionable insight into market-driving events, structural themes, and portfolio construction to empower investment decision-making.

      

Lauren Goodwin, CFA
Chief Market Strategist

Julia Hermann, CFA
Global Market Strategist

Michael LoGalbo, CFA
Global Market Strategist

Sarah Hirsch
Global Market Strategist

      


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