10 Financial Predictions for 2021 to Protect Your Wealth Hacker Noon

@rasRas Vasilisin

Entrepreneur, investor, and founder & CEO @VirtuseExchange

Preparing for the future gives you incredible confidence. 

Now more than ever, you need a sense of clarity. Everywhere you turn, there is uncertainty ready to ruin your day. But the future is more predictable than you think. 

So, here are my ten outcomes that seem likely in 2021. 

1.Lockdowns will not end next year.

Eight months ago, our politicians told us that the restrictions would last just a couple of weeks, and then we return to normal. Well, here we are at the end of the year, entering the second more severe wave. Most likely, our freedom of movement and assembly will continue to get restricted. Governments will still forbid most of us to work and earn the money we need to survive. In short, the lockdowns won’t end next year, and the aftermath of the second wave will be the third, fourth, or fifth wave. 

2.Climate change will be back on the agenda.

Joe Biden has named climate as one of the top priorities. The president-elect campaigned on a $1.7 trillion plan to transition to 100% clean energy sources by 2050. Those who invest in carbon emissions assets, such as European Emission Allowances (EUAs), should get ready to see a new all-time high in 2021. 

3.The home office will become the norm.

You will still have an option to go to the office if you’d like. But it will be different. The office will be a place to have crucial meetings, not do work. All other conversations you’ll have to manage via Zoom from your home office. Using Slack or Trello for work-related communication will be the norm. For better or worse, work from home will be the standard. The result? That will cause damage to commercial real estate and business travel. Also, trigger the second wave of the exodus of white-collar workers from big cities.

4.Crypto will attack banks.

Let’s just state the obvious here. Banks are so screwed. They are about to be attacked by central banks, fintech, and crypto companies. An open, more inclusive alternative to a broken financial system will get closer to reality.  Every financial service like savings, loans, investing, or insurance will get disrupted. First, central banks will circumvent the entire banking system, thanks to Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs). Second, the fintech giants like Alphabet, Apple, Alibaba, and Tencent will increase their focus on the banking space. And then, crypto exchanges, together with DeFi, will expand their services to lending and borrowing. As Anthony Pompliano, the co-founder at Morgan Creek Digital likes to say, “Long Bitcoin, short the bankers.”

5.S&P 500 will breach 4,000

With interest rates at zero till 2023 and unlimited money printing, you can be long equities with your eyes closed. Likewise, fiscal stimulus and positive developments related to trade wars under a Biden administration lead to a more bullish outlook. Morgan Stanley projected that the S&P 500 would rise to 3,900 by December 2021.

And JPMorgan…