Wells Fargo Investment Institute (WFII) today released the 2017 Midyear Outlook report “Seize the Opportunities.” The midyear report provides ideas for how best to navigate uncertainty and explains what investors should expect for the remainder of 2017. In the report, WFII covers a comprehensive economic and market overview — and they give their top-five portfolio recommendations they believe are critical to investors’ success in the second half of the year.

“One truism of investing is that uncertainty is always with us, and successful investing is built on the premise that uncertainty can create opportunity. But what matters most is how investors choose to respond to the inevitable events that move the markets,” said Darrell Cronk, president of Wells Fargo Investment Institute.

Key areas covered include:

• Expectations for U.S. and global markets and economic growth
• Opportunities in equities, fixed income, and real assets
• The unique role that alternatives can play in qualified portfolios
• Five portfolio tips for the rest of 2017:
  • Reduce certain “riskier” asset classes
  • Broaden geographic equity exposure
  • Increase non-traditional sources of return
  • Be agile with tactical shifts
  • Reconsider the active/passive mix

“Looking ahead to 2018, we believe slow-but-steady U.S. economic growth and low inflation should continue and support both equity markets and slightly higher bond yields,” said Paul Christopher, head global market strategist for WFII. “We strongly believe that the foundational principals of investing — including diversification, globalization, and portfolio rebalancing — are vitally important in today’s markets,” Christopher added.

Read the Wells Fargo Investment Institute 2017 Midyear Outlook, “Seize the Opportunities.”

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.

About Wells Fargo

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) is a diversified, community-based financial services company with $2.0 trillion in assets. Founded in 1852 and headquartered in San Francisco, Wells Fargo provides banking, insurance, investments, mortgage, and consumer and commercial finance through more than 8,500 locations, 13,000 ATMs, the internet (wellsfargo.com) and mobile banking, and has offices in 42 countries and territories to support customers who conduct business in the global economy. With approximately 273,000 team members, Wells Fargo serves one in three households in the United States. Wells Fargo & Company was ranked No. 27 on Fortune’s 2016 rankings of America’s largest corporations. Wells Fargo’s vision is to satisfy our customers’ financial needs and help them succeed financially. News, insights and perspectives from Wells Fargo are also available at Wells Fargo Stories.

Risk Factors

Forecasts are not guaranteed and are subject to change.

All investing involves risks including the possible loss of principal. Equity securities are subject to market risk which means their value may fluctuate in response to general economic and market conditions and the perception of individual issuers. Investments in equity securities are generally more volatile than other types of securities.

Investments in fixed-income securities are subject to market, interest rate, credit/default, liquidity, inflation and other risks. Bond prices fluctuate inversely to changes in interest rates. Therefore, a general rise in interest rates can result in the decline in the bond’s price. Credit risk is the risk that an issuer will default on payments of interest and principal. This risk is higher when investing in high yield bonds, also known as junk bonds, which have lower ratings and are subject to greater volatility. If sold prior to maturity, fixed income securities are subject to market risk. All fixed income investments may be worth less than their original cost upon redemption or maturity.

Investing in foreign securities presents certain risks not associated with domestic investments, such as currency fluctuation, political and economic instability, and different accounting standards. This may result in greater share price volatility. These risks are heightened in emerging markets.

There are special risks associated with an investment in real estate, including the possible illiquidity of the underlying properties, credit risk, interest rate fluctuations and the impact of varied economic conditions.

Opinions represent WFII’s opinion as of the date of this article and are for general informational purposes only and are not intended to predict or guarantee the future performance of any individual security, market sector or the markets generally. WFII does not undertake to advise you of any change in its opinions or the information contained in this article. Wells Fargo & Company affiliates may issue reports or have opinions that are inconsistent with, and reach different conclusions from, this article.

The information contained herein constitutes general information and is not directed to, designed for, or individually tailored to, any particular investor or potential investor. This report is not intended to be a client-specific suitability analysis or recommendation, an offer to participate in any investment, or a recommendation to buy, hold or sell securities. Do not use this report as the sole basis for investment decisions. Do not select an asset class or investment product based on performance alone. Consider all relevant information, including your existing portfolio, investment objectives, risk tolerance, liquidity needs and investment time horizon.

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