Jitta Wealth Asset Management, a Thai fintech startup, recommends focusing on US stocks with sustained growth potential for the coming year. Historical data indicates US stock market returns tend to rise by 8-10% following presidential elections.
Moreover, US president-elect Donald Trump has proposed policies to reduce corporate income tax for domestic companies and raise import taxes on goods from various countries. These measures are expected to enhance the appeal of US stocks.
Trawut Luangsomboon, chief executive of Jitta, said the company developed sophisticated investment tools and algorithms, including Alpha AI, to identify favourable stock market signals at the right time, select high-potential stocks at low prices and automate portfolio management for investors through the Jitta Ranking Alpha private fund, offering a cutting-edge investment solution.
The new investment plan focuses on investing in the most promising countries each year, with quarterly portfolio adjustments and annual country rotations.
This strategy recorded an average annual return of 20.7% based on back-testing, significantly outperforming the MSCI World benchmark index, which averages 9.18% annually, according to the firm.
Mr Trawut said in recent years, more investors seek global investment opportunities.
The main challenge for most investors is selecting countries with strong growth potential and a promising long-term outlook, he said.
Often their investments are made during periods when markets are overvalued or entering a declining cycle, leading to prolonged portfolio losses and uncertainty about when to shift investments to other countries, said Mr Trawut.
"If we examine stock market statistics in various countries, there is a cyclical pattern. On average, over a 10-year period stock markets tend to be negative for about three years and positive for seven," he said.
"If bourses have performed well for several consecutive years, it is likely a correction will occur, leading to lower returns the following year."
Similarly, if a stock market has underperformed in previous years or experienced a sharp decline due to a crisis, there is a possibility it will recover in the following year and enter a bull market, said Mr Trawut.
If investors can analyse and identify the "right time" to invest in each country's stock market, shifting their investments from overpriced markets to those with better opportunities, they can reduce the duration the portfolio is exposed to market downturns and enhance long-term returns, he said.
Mr Trawut said investing in stocks with strong fundamentals is crucial, as the proportion of good, undervalued stocks will indicate profit opportunities in the stock market.
A market with a higher proportion of strong fundamentals indicates a more robust and sustainable foundation for growth, he said.
"However, if a stock market has more good and expensive stocks than good and cheap stocks, it may indicate the market is overheated and a bubble is waiting to burst. If we invest and the bubble bursts, we could face significant losses, even if they are strong stocks," said Mr Trawut.
"Investing in countries with more good and undervalued stocks presents a better investment opportunity."
Jitta analysed stock market data from 29 countries over the past 12 years and developed an algorithm based on value investing, focusing on selecting good, undervalued stocks through its Jitta Ranking investment plan.
This approach has proven to help investors achieve strong returns and outperform the market in the long run, he said.
The company has managed around 80,000 private fund portfolios, providing valuable insights and a deep understanding of the investment cycle, said Mr Trawut.
Jitta's Alpha AI selects the most promising countries for investment each year from four key stock markets: the US, China, Hong Kong and Japan.
The AI analyses comparative data of each market's upward and downward cycles to determine which market shows the best trends and investment opportunities. Based on this analysis, Alpha AI identifies the country with the most attractive stock market and best investment value.
Stock market investments made between November and January each year will be reviewed to determine whether to continue investing in the same market or adjust the portfolio to focus on other countries with greater growth potential for the following year, he said.
Jitta Ranking Alpha requires a minimum investment of 2 million baht to diversify risks and maximise potential returns.