"The highly accommodative policy stance being pursued by the Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank (ECB) and other central banks should continue to bolster financial markets in 2013 despite fiscal policy drag and another year of subpar growth in the global economy," writes the global investment committee for Morgan Stanley Wealth Management.
Led by Chief Investment Officer Jeff Applegate and Chief Investment Strategist David Darst, MSSB have put together the firm's list of 10 Investment Ideas for 2013.
The firm isn't especially bullish on global growth prospects, but they believe central bank easing should prop up financial markets.
Morgan Stanley's ideas are based off the following trends:
- Exceptionally low interest rates;
- Emerging markets driving global growth; and
- Continued monetary easing.
We've provided the team's list of favored investments, the benchmarks used to track performance, and the rationale for each idea's inclusion.
10. Master limited partnerships receive special tax benefits
Benchmark: Alerian MLP Index
Listed on securities exchanges, these investment vehicles are concentrated in natural resource industries and offer superior dividends compared to conventional stocks. MLPs can avoid state and federal taxes if 90 percent of their income is derived from the production, transportation, or processing of natural resources.
Source: Morgan Stanley
9. Water might be the most important commodity story of the century
Benchmark: ISE Water Index
This was Morgan Stanley's top idea for 2012, and it provided a return close to 28 percent. The team believes that declining supply and rising demand will continue to create the 'perfect storm' as increasing urbanization contributes to the scarcity of this precious resource.
Source: Morgan Stanley
8. High-quality municipal bonds are exempt from taxes
Benchmark: Barclays Capital AMT-Free Intermediate Continuous Municipal Index
Morgan Stanley expects investors to flock to municipal bonds to avoid the impact of higher tax rates eating into returns. The team recommends high quality general obligation and essential services revenues bonds as well as prerefunded muni bonds with higher yields than U.S. Treasuries of identical terms.
Source: Morgan Stanley
See the rest of the story at Business Insider
Please follow Money Game on Twitter and Facebook.