2012 Market Predictions From Top Portfolio Managers

With the first quarter of 2012 upon us and the stock market showing no signs of leveling out, companies are looking to portfolio management professionals to protect their investments against market volatility. Just a few months after these corporate finance professionals issued their predictions for 2012, some of their prophecies are already coming true.

Daptiv Portfolio Management, Seattle, WA:
Financial experts at Daptiv predicted that business uncertainty would continue, becoming the "new normal." They also predicted that portfolio managers would begin to take a more holistic view of a company’s assets. Using PPM tools to manage end-to-end service portfolios, product delivery, application lifecycle management, and change management programs, companies could face a more diversified, volatile marketplace in a variety of new ways, leaving no stone unturned.

But while companies struggle to keep heads above water in a still-recovering economy, portfolio managers will need to re-establish their worth. This will involve managers building in accountability guidelines and creating adaptable planning frameworks so that companies not only see what you have done, but also where you are going at all times.

BOK Financial Corp, Tulsa, OK: Jim Huntzinger, Executive VP and CEO of BOK Financial told Tulsa World that he foresees continued volatility for the market in 2012. "There were 49 times last year that 90 percent of the daily trading volume was either up or down," he said. "A normal year might find five days that the volume is all in one direction."

Huntzinger notes that many investors have become risk-averse and, while 2009 and 2010 were great return years, many investors missed them because they had moved money over to bonds. Look for that to continue on a broad scale. But portfolio managers believe that, even with this volatility, they can help customers find less risky investments to get some investors back in the game in 2012.