John Bennett, Head of European Equities, shares his outlook for 2017. He sees the potential for a continued rotation from a growth to a value-driven market as the key factor for European equity investors next year. While he maintains an overall bullish outlook, John acknowledges that currency, politics and the chance of deflation are all risks to this view.

According to Tim Stevenson, Director of European Equities at Henderson, 2017 will be an intriguing year. My expectation is that Europe will not self-destruct, but instead become a haven of stability while the UK tries to figure out what Brexit means (the UK Prime Minister's response that “Brexit means Brexit” does not wash).

Nick Sheridan, European equities manager, provides his outlook for 2017, discussing how politics is likely to shape investor sentiment (much as it did in 2016) and how he is positioning his value-biased strategy to take advantage of any mis-priced opportunities.

Risks to EM equities and bonds have increased since the U.S. election, with the incoming Trump administration's policies on trade uncertain. Yet a cyclical growth pick-up benefitting EMs outweighs these risks for now, we believe, and supports selectively investing in EM assets.

According to James Butterfill, Head of Research & Investment Strategy at ETF Securities, the Italian referendum yesterday signified a worrying trend for the rest of Europe in confirming the rise of populist parties in the EU, and particularly important given that 70% of Europe have elections in 2017.