Understanding megatrends
Megatrends analysis
Pictet Asset Management has been working with the Copenhagen Institute for Futures Studies (CIFS) for over a decade to establish a deeper understanding of megatrends – the powerful secular forces that are changing the environment, society, politics, technology and the economy.
CIFS is a leading global think tank and advisory firm. CIFS uses awide range of research methods, developed over the last 50 years, which include megatrend analysis, scenario planning, risk management, innovation initiatives and strategy development.
Through our partnership with CIFS, we have devised the Pictet Investment Megatrends framework that incorporates 21 identified investment megatrends. The framework – which includes trends such as Urbanisation, AI and Computing Power, Focus on Health, Climate Change and Economic Growth – enhances our thematic equity capabilities and informs the construction and development of our thematic equities strategies such as Water, Robotics or Nutrition.
As CIFS’ partner, Pictet Asset Management has access to research into areas not normally covered by the investment analyst community such as changes in societal attitudes and beliefs, the impact this has on the environment and the business sector, and the acceleration of technological development. We are proud to be associated with CIFS and would like to share some of their research with you.
Download the reports
-
Megatrends are high-level drivers of change that will greatly impact societies in the decades to come. They are massive in scale and their effects are felt across the globe. In a principally unpredictable world, these trends stand out as the only relative certainty we have. This publication explores 15 megatrends that will shape the world and illustrates how megatrends can be used practically in the context of future-proofing organisational strategy.Global megatrends PDF
-
Art is a lens through which we can explore uncertainty and examine both the need for and limitations of human agency in an increasingly complex future. This publication explores the role of art as a unique and invaluable form of futures inquiry and showcases how art and futures studies interrelate and shape each other in various ways, drawing on examples and cases from international contemporary art, curators, art institutions, and futurists.Future shaping art / art shaping futures PDF
-
The Fourth Industrial Revolution is upon us. But how much of the technological change we are seeing today is indeed revolutionary and how much is a continuation of past trends? Which blind spots, wildcards, opportunities, and risks are on the horizon, and which potential futures are we not paying close enough attention to?Fourth industrial (R)evolution PDF
-
Our futures are shaped by the decisions we make in the present. By becoming more conscious of how our understanding of the future guides these decisions, both in a professional and personal setting, we can make choices that are better informed and less clouded by biases and misguided assumptions.Using the future PDF
-
Companies and organisations are increasingly expected to play a greater role in solving some of the major global challenges and interconnected crises facing us. Are they up to the task?CSR in the age of compounded crisis PDF
-
Pandemics are agents of creative destruction that expose the critical vulnerabilities and inequalities in society while also supercharging innovation through necessity. Often, pandemics act as expressways to the future that force us to reassess the status quo, break away from ingrained modes of thought, and overhaul our systems and structures.Pandemics PDF
-
A range of solutions to mitigate climate change exist or are on the horizon. Some are well-known, others more novel, and they vary in effectiveness. This report aims to cut through the noise and provide a comprehensive survey of current and future climate solutions, their potential impact and the challenges we need to overcome if they are to be successfully implemented.Visions of a greener world PDF
-
The report combines fact with fiction in three storylines set in Copenhagen 25 years from now, seen through the eyes of a young mother, a lord mayor and a business leader. Underlying the three narratives is a scenario for the world in 2044, constructed collectively by the futurists at CIFS based on the latest research from the Institute’s key topics.Your life in 2024 PDF
-
The nature and purpose of higher education will have to be re-evaluated to accommodate societal, technological and demographic shifts, as well as more automated and fluid job markets. We will have to reconsider how higher education is organised and delivered, and the role of higher education institutions in the digital economy of the 21st century.Rethinking higher education PDF
-
Media production and consumption are accelerating, the media environment is becoming more complex, and junk news and misinformation run rampant. Three articles cover our changing media landscape from different perspectives: the future of public service media, diverging trajectories in commercial media, and the new frontiers of hi-tech media.Future media PDF
-
We are living in a time of upheaval. Many of the conditions we have long taken for granted are now changing. The report looks at four trends that threaten the global status quo: Democratic recession, the end of Western technological dominance and Western-led globalisation, and accelerating environmental change.Crumbling pillars PDF