Davos 2019: Key Takeaways From PwC, PIMCO, Bain, UBS

Trade tensions between the U.S. and China cast its shadow on the World Economic Forum. The summit's participants, however, had other problems to worry about.

While private investment firms voiced concerns about rising pessimism among chief executive officers, a geopolitical recession concerned others. The sentiment is rooted in forecasts, such as the International Monetary Fund's, which expect global economy growth to decelerate to 3.5 percent this year.

Here's how investment firms perceive India, and the world, in an era of volatility.

PwC

Bob Moritz, global chairman of PwC, witnessed a “180-degree turn” in the optimism of CEOs over global growth. The number of executives expecting global growth to decline rose to 29 percent compared with 5 percent in the previous year, according to a study conducted by the consultancy.

Pimco

For John Studzinski, the managing director and vice chairman of Pimco, “geopolitcal recession” is a bigger concern than the slowdown in the U.S and China. An increasing tilt to right-wing ideology, according to Studzinski, could pose risk to economic growth.

Bain Capital

India is a “bright spot” despite challenges to growth in the U.S. and Europe, according to Bain Capital's co-chairman Steve Pagliuca. He finds these three sectors conducive for investment in India.

UBS Group

Simon Smiles, UBS Group's chief investment officer for ultra high net-worth individuals, sees attractiveness for India's assets to be a thing of the past. He thinks these assets were not as attractive to global investors as they were five years ago, with more focus on prospects offered by the U.S. and China.