Conviction: The fifth element in core equity investing

Franklin Equity’s Grant Bowers discusses why a higher cost of capital does not change the capital expenditure outlook.

ClearBridge Investments: While the AI trade absorbs nearly all available investor attention, owning energy covers our absolute risk while creating the risk budget to cover the AI relative risk more effectively.

Global growth remains resilient but uneven. In the United States, expansion is supported by private demand, a stable labor market and AI investment, while Europe and Japan continue to show surprising strength despite ongoing risks.