Emirates NBD Presents 2026 Global Investment Outlook: Eyes Wide Open

Emirates NBD has set out its global investment outlook for 2026 under the theme "Eyes Wide Open", signalling a year shaped by artificial intelligence, deep technology shifts and changing geopolitical power. The outlook is presented as offering long-term opportunities alongside higher risks, with implications for investors in the UAE, wider Middle East and international markets.

The 2026 "Eyes Wide Open" framework is unveiled by Maurice Gravier, Group Chief Investment Officer, Wealth Management at Emirates NBD, during a media roundtable at the bank’s offices in Dubai CommerCity. Media representatives and senior Emirates NBD officials attend the event, which focuses on structural shifts, long-term positioning and risk control across global portfolios.

Gravier explains that the investment backdrop is dominated by technology change and rising political tension, warning that limits across systems will face strain. Gravier states: "Everywhere we look, we see limits being tested by the combination of AI expansion with geopolitical antagonism. Fiscal and social limits immediately come to mind. Geopolitical red lines will be probed, while alliances and rivalries alike are reshaped. Financial limits, from equity valuations to government and projects funding, will also be tested, as will investors’ nerves."

To frame the new guidance, Emirates NBD reviews 2025 results, when the earlier theme "Winds of Change" guided allocations. Gravier and the investment team report strong US dollar portfolio returns between 13% and 20%, citing clear direction from that roadmap. "Our strategies outperformed global peers by our widest margin ever," Gravier said, underlining how previous positioning supports confidence entering 2026.

Emirates NBD global investment outlook 2026 focuses on portfolio construction

Within the 2026 strategy, Gravier reiterates three macro areas of focus: gold, artificial intelligence and emerging markets, but stresses careful selection. "First, portfolio construction and risk management are paramount. We have reshuffled our strategic asset allocation to ensure portfolios always point to the long-term destination quintessential to wealth management. It is built to protect capital over defined horizons (3, 5 and 7 years) and is diversified enough to provide options to act upon adverse events."

Emirates NBD expects overall positive returns in 2026, especially in the first months, yet warns against relying only on top-level asset splits. Gravier emphasises the need to search beneath headline allocation, using detailed, granular analysis to identify suitable opportunities and manage the complex mix of technology change, shifting alliances and financial pressures that define the "Eyes Wide Open" outlook.

With inputs from WAM