NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Wells Fargo Investment Institute (WFII) today released the 2016 Midyear Outlook report ‘ Eyes on the Horizon ,’ updating investors on five key drivers of change that investors should be aware. The report provides investment advice on how best to navigate the volatility investors should expect for the remainder of 2016.

In its report, WFII expects:

• An acceleration in U.S. consumer spending
• Improved U.S. corporate earnings and stabilization in energy prices
• A challenging environment for small-cap and emerging market stocks and a better environment for large-cap equities
• A cautious approach to interest rate increases by the Federal Reserve

“Despite a volatile start to the year, we’re seeing healthier consumer spending, stabilizing oil prices and less pressure from a stronger U.S. dollar. We expect many of the headwinds we’ve faced in the first half of the year to change course and actually become tailwinds into the second half,” said Darrell Cronk, president of Wells Fargo Investment Institute.”

The report provides market and economic forecasts for the remainder of the year and examines the outlook for the global economy, equities, fixed income, real assets and alternatives.

“The economy is gradually gaining pace, but growth is still in low gear. With continued uncertainty and volatility expected for the rest of the year, investors should keep a longer-term perspective, globally diversify their holdings and rebalance portfolios regularly using market volatility to their advantage,” said Paul Christopher, head global market strategist, WFII.

Read the Wells Fargo Investment Institute 2016 Midyear Outlook, " Eyes on the Horizon ."

About Wells Fargo Investment Institute

Wells Fargo Investment Institute (WFII) is a registered investment adviser and wholly-owned subsidiary of Wells Fargo & Company, providing investment research, strategy, manager research and thought leadership within the Wealth and Investment Management division (WIM), with the goal of supplying world class advice to the company’s financial and wealth advisers. WFII provides investment advice to Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., Wells Fargo Advisors and other Wells Fargo affiliates.

WIM includes Wells Fargo Private Bank, serving high-net-worth individuals and families; Wells Fargo Advisors, which provides investment advice and guidance through over 15,000 financial advisors; Wells Fargo Retirement, which manages $314 billion in employer-sponsored retirement plan assets for 3.7 million Americans; Abbot Downing, serving ultra-high-net-worth individuals and families; and Wells Fargo Asset Management, which provides investment management solutions to global individual and institutional clients through separate accounts and the Wells Fargo Funds.

About Wells Fargo & Company (Twitter @WellsFargo)

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) is a diversified, community-based financial services company with $1.8 trillion in assets. Founded in 1852 and headquartered in San Francisco, Wells Fargo provides banking, insurance, investments, mortgage, and consumer and commercial finance through 8,800 locations, 13,000 ATMs, the internet (wellsfargo.com) and mobile banking, and has offices in 36 countries to support customers who conduct business in the global economy. With approximately 269,000 team members, Wells Fargo serves one in three households in the United States. Wells Fargo & Company was ranked No. 30 on Fortune’s 2015 rankings of America’s largest corporations. Wells Fargo’s vision is to satisfy our customers’ financial needs and help them succeed financially. Wells Fargo perspectives are also available at Wells Fargo Blogs and Wells Fargo Stories.