UBS Wealth Management released a report this week titled "Lessons from Investing in the Second Half of the Year", highlighting several key lessons investors should learn over the next six months. The report highlights the importance of asset, regional and sector diversification, particularly given the political uncertainty highlighted by the US election debate, "Therefore, as investors move into the second half, we advocate preparing for lower interest rates and a changing political landscape by building a balanced and diversified portfolio across fixed income, equities and alternative investments." UBS added: "We also see gold as an attractive geopolitical hedge and portfolio diversification tool and rank it as the most favoured precious metal." UBS also noted strong market performance in the first half of 2024, "We continue to see a supportive backdrop for global equities and expect the discount factor to decline as inflation normalises and central banks embark on policy easing cycles".