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Global Investor Sentiment 2026

Global investors are optimistic heading into a new year.

Ipsos graphic of charts and diagrams

At a glance

  • Global investors are optimistic heading into 2026, with about three-quarters (73%) feeling favourable about the investment environment, according to research we recently conducted with Ipsos surveying 1,270 global investors.
  • The third consecutive year of this research provides insights on global investor sentiment and how it may shape investment decisions in the coming 12 months.
  • 81% of investors think 2026 will be favourable for private markets.
  • Of investors surveyed, 86% view technological change as a tailwind, and the vast majority (98%) are embedding AI within their own businesses.

Global investors optimistic going into 2026

Rising concerns about geopolitical tensions and market volatility have done little to dampen global investors’ enthusiasm for the investment environment in the year ahead. Roughly three-quarters (73%) believe 2026 will be favourable for investing.

That’s according to research we recently conducted with Ipsos, surveying 1,270 global investors1. The third consecutive year of this research provides insights on global investor sentiment and how it may shape investment decisions in the coming year.

Our research was conducted as we entered the final months of 2025, amid macroeconomic and geopolitical challenges but also an uptick in M&A activity, which was anticipated last year, and bullish stock market performance.

Favourable factors influencing investor outlook for 2026 Most common response Market Global Australia Brazil Canada France Germany India Singapore United Kingdom United States Overall investment environment 73% 65% 82% 75% 49% 73% 82% 74% 72% 83% Private markets environment 81% 81% 87% 81% 67% 76% 86% 74% 86% 88% Macroeconomic factors 73% 71% 71% 69% 63% 71% 87% 68% 74% 80% Geopolitical environment 68% 67% 69% 71% 45% 69% 79% 71% 71% 75% Technological change 86% 88% 93% 83% 76% 77% 89% 87% 88% 93% Regulatory environment 73% 68% 75% 75% 51% 76% 87% 69% 69% 85% Q: As you look to the 2026 business environment, to what extent do you consider each of the following factors to be favourable for investors? Percentages include responses for “very favourable” and “somewhat favourable.”

Investors remain positive, despite headwinds

Amid ongoing geopolitical turbulence and rapid technological change, investors remain optimistic about the investment environment heading into the new year. About three-quarters of investors (73%) have a positive outlook on the overall investment environment heading into 2026, a similar sentiment to the year prior. The most bullish are investors in the U.S., with 83% feeling positive about the year ahead, up from 64% for the same period a year ago.

By contrast, investors in France are most guarded in their outlook for 2026, with just under half (49%) expressing a positive outlook, followed by Australia, where 65% describe the investment environment as favourable.

Factors 2 influencing investor outlook for 2026 2% 2% 2% 1% 5% Q: As you look to the 2026 business environment, to what extent do you consider each of the following factors to be favourable for investors? Overall investment environment Technological change Private markets environment Macroeconomic factors Regulatory environment Geopolitical environment Very favourable Somewhat favourable Very 4% 11% 44% 42% 38% 43% 36% 37% 32% 41% 34% 34% 14% 15% 17% 5% 11% 8% 13% 14% 17% 32% 41% 9% 73% 73% 2025 2024 86% 81% 81% 78% 73% 74% 73% 73% 68% 72%

Tech advancement and private market opportunities supporting investor optimism

Tech change viewed as an enabler for investors

In a year where AI continued to rapidly move from experimentation into real-world application, global investors appear to be embracing the pace of change. Overall, 86% of investors have a favourable view of the pace of technological change, up from 78% in 2024. The U.S.—a leader in the AI race due to supportive government frameworks, a deep talent pool and strong private-sector investment has the strongest positive views of technological change, with 91% viewing it favourably, up from 82% in 2024.

Essentially all investors (98%) are on a path to embedding AI capabilities in their businesses. Almost one-third (30%) said they are focusing on leveraging the technology to inform and enhance investment decisions, while about one-quarter are focused on boosting productivity (27%) and better leveraging their proprietary data (25%).

Private markets supporting overall investor enthusiasm

This optimistic outlook for the investment environment is being partially fuelled by private markets. Globally, 81% of investors have a favourable view of private markets, including aspects such as capital availability, liquidity and deal flow. All nine of the countries captured in the survey list private markets as one of their top two most favourable aspects of the investment environment, with the U.S., U.K. and India among the most positive.

Rising interest in home markets

Investors in several markets have a growing appetite to seek out opportunities closer to home. Singapore saw the highest jump in this area, with 62% expecting to invest more in Asia-Pacific 3 in 2026, up 27 percentage points over last year. Other global markets shared a similar view, including Canada, where almost 7 out of 10 (69%) Canadian investors indicated interest toward opportunities at home, an increase of 24 points from the prior year. Similar trends appeared in the U.S. (60%, +12 pts) and with U.K. investors investing in Europe (68%, +8 pts).

Investors seeing opportunities in the energy transition

The energy transition, which includes everything from EVs and climate tech to critical minerals and renewables, is an area attracting more attention from global investors. Almost 9 in 10 (88%) investors indicated an appetite to invest in this space, up from 78% last year.

Notably, in the U.S., 94% of investors see opportunities to invest in the transition, up 20 points from last year, while in Canada, 87% share this view, a 16-point increase from 2024. In the U.K., 95% of investors expressed interest in the energy transition, up 7 points from 2024.

Globally, investors indicated increased interest in businesses facilitating climate technology and infrastructure (59%, an increase of 5 points) and businesses that reduce emissions (59%, +9 pts), followed closely by businesses that replace direct fossil fuel use (57%, +10 points).

Market volatility, macroeconomic trends and geopolitical instability remain top challenges

Many of the same issues that shaped the investment climate in 2025 persist as we head into 2026. Equity markets largely advanced over the past 12 months, while bond markets delivered mixed results amid diverging monetary policies across regions. Financial market volatility remains top of mind for global investors: more than half (54%) rank it among their top three concerns, consistent with last year’s survey.

Economic uncertainty is also weighing slightly more on global investors’ outlook than it was a year ago. Half of investors (50%) cite macroeconomic factors as a top three issue, up from 47% last year.

Unsurprisingly, following a year of political transitions in many markets, shifts in trading relationship dynamics, and ongoing global conflicts, geopolitical instability rounds out the top three concerns heading into 2026, with 44% of investors pointing to global tensions as a challenge, similar to the sentiment in 2025.

Top issues for investors 1 Q: What is the largest challenge facing you as an investor today? Please rank your top three issues. 21% 19% 14% 54% 19% 16% 14% 50% 14% 44% 14% 42% 9% 13% 31% 8% 10% 9% 11% 8% 8% 12% 29% 7% 27% 7% 23% 14% Financial market volatility Macroeconomic factors Geopolitical instability Integrating evolving technologies including AI Managing diverse stakeholder expectations Addressing climate/sustainability Adapting talent and skills Liquidity constraints Rank 1 Rank 3 Rank 2 Total Rank in Top 3 17% 55% 47% 43% 36% 29% 30% 30% 27% 2024 13% 14% 9% 2025

1 Ontario Teachers’/Ipsos surveyed investors in nine markets. A total of 1,270 responses were collected from director-level and above in private equity/venture capital funds, investment bank/M&A firms and accounting/legal advisory firms, or those working as management consultants or as managers of pension plans, sovereign wealth funds or other alternative assets. The number of respondents in each market is as follows: •Australia (n=100) •Brazil (n=150) •Canada (n=150) •France (n=160) •Germany (n=150) •India (n=155) •Singapore (n=105) •United Kingdom (n=150) •United States (n=150).

Fieldwork was carried out from September 2 to October 8, 2025.

The aggregate results are considered accurate to within +/- 3.4 percentage points, 19 times out of 20. For individual countries, the results are accurate to within +/- 12 points for n=100, and +/- 9.8 points for n=150.

Totals may not add up to 100% due to rounding.

2 Technological change was defined as the “pace of technological change,” and included the ability to capitalize on technological change, pressure to adopt new technologies, workforce impacts and cybersecurity and data security concerns. Private market environment included capital availability, cost of capital, private market liquidity, M&A and deal activity and private credit activity and availability. Macroeconomic factors included monetary policy and interest rates, inflation, economic growth, international trade and the business cycle. Regulatory environment included the tax regime, investment incentives and the rules and regulations that businesses must follow. The geopolitical environment included strategic competition between nations, trade relations, energy security considerations, international co-operation, international tensions and outright content.

3 62% of Singaporean Investors are expecting to invest more in Asia-Pacific markets excluding India and China in 2026.

NOTE: Baselines included for 2024 are accurate to the 9 markets surveyed in 2025