Morgan Stanley recently hosted its 7th Australia Summit. The annual event brought together expert analysts, strategists and economists to connect the dots on key investment themes across regions, markets and asset classes.
Morgan Stanley Australia’s annual conference featured a number of sessions including keynote presentations and panel discussions from business leaders, investors and Morgan Stanley’s leading global and local research analysts. The sessions covered the key disruptive forces dominating investor debates and explored a wide range of ideas, including global and regional geopolitical changes and the associated implications. Artificial Intelligence and its broad-reaching impact was highlighted as well as advancements in space technology, along with some of Morgan Stanley’s key themes for 2025 including the future of energy and investing for a multipolar world.
Below are highlights from some of the internal speakers across the two-day event.
“Australia is in a good place in terms of tariff impacts”
Chris Nicol, Head of Macro Strategy, Morgan Stanley Australia
Alexandre Ventelon, Head of Investment Strategy and Solutions Wealth Management Australia, sat down with Chris Nicol to cover the Australian outlook in the global context and implications for Australian investors.
The session covered the expectation that supportive domestic policy should offset a weaker global backdrop, leaving 2025 GDP growth below trend but improved from last year. A re-elected Federal Government majority means a more sustained fiscal pulse, which alongside slightly more benign tariff outcomes sees us upgrade 2026 GDP. Morgan Stanley strategists still see the RBA cutting interest rates two more times this year.
Chris noted persistent domestic inflation remains a key risk to watch. The Australian equity market offers defensiveness but faces weak earnings momentum, especially in resources, with some sectors like banks appearing stretched.
Chris concluded while fairly valued overall, Australia remains an attractive longer-term destination.
“Web browsers as we know them will be dead within five years”
Brian Nowak, US Internet Analyst, Morgan Stanley
Alphabet, the parent company of Google, faces a bigger competitive threat from Meta than ChatGPT, as the tech giants race to dominate the space for AI chatbot assistants and wearable hardware for consumers.
However, Brian emphasised Google’s ongoing strength. He mentioned Google’s heavy investment in capex along with the fact that all 15 of Google’s core products are being upgraded with Gemini AI, improving search, shopping and travel, poses increasing challenges for competitors.
Brian mentioned one of the most interesting things to observe in the next 18 months is whether the Meta AI App, or the Meta AI search bar within Instagram or WhatsApp can actually drive commercial behaviour.
Brian highlighted Waymo and Google Cloud as underappreciated growth drivers, especially after signing OpenAI as a customer. He also predicted that smartphones will soon be replaced by other, more convenient wearables, such as glasses and wrist bands.
For more from Morgan Stanley’s Australia Summit, speak to your Morgan Stanley Financial Adviser or representative. Plus, more Ideas from Morgan Stanley's thought leaders.