2023 will finally become the "year of stocks", and it is unattainable to continue to rise sharply next year

As of Thursday this year, the MSCI World Equity Index is up 19%, recovering most of the 20% decline in 2022. Considering that bonds are busy pricing in recessions and stocks are soaring to record highs, the new year could bring a lot of challenges. Another concern for equity investors is that after a gratifying year like this one, gains in the coming year are usually lower. The MSCI World Equity Index has risen 15% or more in 12 of the past 30 years, and only once in the following year did it exceed the previous year’s level, before the dot-com bubble burst in 1999. There is some comfort in the median increase of around 10%, but at least historically, there is little chance of a big rise like this year next year.