Markets No Longer Move the Way They Used To

The Big Takeaways

• The 70% Blind Spot: Macro and Industry forces now dictate 70% of price movement. Relying solely on company earnings (the remaining 30%) leaves investors exposed to shifts that occur long before financial reports are released.
• The ETF Liquidity Paradox: Passive flows have reshaped market "plumbing." This creates a "Crosswinds" environment for 2026: lower day-to-day volatility, but a higher risk of "flash" repricing during market shocks.
• The Shift to AI Infrastructure: Market leadership is moving from speculation to implementation. Success in 2026 requires shifting focus from AI hype to the digital infrastructure and data ecosystems that underpin global growth.

Are You Still Analyzing Only 30% of What Moves Your Stocks

Many investors believe they are being conservative because they focus on fundamentals.

But in today’s markets, company earnings are only part of the picture. In reality, up to 70% of stock price movement is influenced by forces outside the company itself — forces that shape liquidity, expectations, and capital flow long before results are reported.

👉 This is one of the core ideas explored at the Beyond Insights Symposium each year.

Why Serious Investors Keep Returning to the Beyond Insights Symposium

Each year, professionals, business owners, and long-term investors return to the Beyond Insights Symposium for one reason:

Perspective.

Markets today are influenced by:

• ETF and institutional fund flows
• Central bank policy shifts
• Geopolitical realignments
• Accelerating megatrends such as AI and digital infrastructure

These forces often move prices before fundamentals catch up. This is why professionals, business owners, and long-term investors return to the Beyond Insights Symposium year after year.

Not for predictions.
Not for tips.
But for a clearer way to think.

For many, the Symposium has become a yearly reset — a moment to step away from daily market noise and reconnect the dots between macro conditions, industry trends, and portfolio decisions.

👉 If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by conflicting narratives, the Symposium is designed to help you step back and see how the pieces fit together.

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Why the Bigger Picture Matters More Than Ever

Most investors are trained to analyze stocks from the bottom up:

• Earnings
• Balance sheets
• Management quality

These factors matter.

But experience across multiple market cycles shows that prices often move more on expectations, liquidity, and external forces than on quarterly results alone. This observation led Beyond Insights’ Founder and Chief Trainer, Kathlyn Toh, to develop the 40–30–30 Framework — a structured, top-down approach to understanding what truly drives stock prices:

40% Macro Factors
Interest rates, monetary and fiscal policy, money supply, economic cycles, and geopolitical developments.

30% Industry Trends
Structural shifts such as AI adoption, cloud infrastructure, data centres, clean energy, and sector-wide demand drivers.

30% Company Fundamentals
Business models, leadership quality, financial strength, innovation, and company-specific growth catalysts. This framework reflects a key reality of modern markets:

While earnings are reported quarterly, prices move daily — often in anticipation of future conditions or in response to macro changes.

👉 This top-down lens is explored in depth during the Symposium, helping investors move beyond isolated stock analysis.

Liquidity, Policy, and Why Markets Behave Differently Today

Macro forces matter because they shape liquidity.

When central banks tighten policy:

• Borrowing costs rise
• Liquidity contracts
• Capital often rotates away from risk assets

When monetary conditions ease:

• Liquidity expands
• Capital flows more readily into equities and growth-oriented sectors
• Entire industries can rise together, sometimes regardless of individual company performance

Industry trends then amplify these effects. The rapid adoption of AI, cloud computing, and data-driven technologies has created demand across entire ecosystems — from semiconductors and networking to software and data centers. Investors who understand these forces tend to recognize opportunity earlier, rather than reacting after valuations have already moved.

👉 At the Symposium, macro and industry dynamics are unpacked systematically — not as forecasts, but as context for better decisions.

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2026: Opportunity, Volatility, and the Need for Structure

Looking ahead, 2026 is unlikely to be a one-directional market.

IMF projections suggest global GDP growth of around 3.1%, supported by gradual disinflation. Major central banks, including the U.S. Federal Reserve, began easing policy toward the end of 2025, with further moves dependent on inflation and employment data.

Lower rates may support asset valuations. But they do not remove risk.

Geopolitical tensions, trade disruptions, policy uncertainty, and valuation sensitivity remain very real. At the same time, ETF-driven capital flows continue to reshape market behavior. With ETFs now a dominant channel for global allocation, liquidity is increasingly concentrated in large-cap equities and thematic sectors.

This can:

• Reduce volatility during stable periods
• Amplify repricing during market shocks

Megatrends such as AI, clean energy, fintech, and digital assets remain powerful — but only when viewed through macro context and disciplined risk management.

👉 This balance between opportunity and structure is a central theme of the Symposium’s market outlook sessions.

What Attendees Say After Experiencing This Perspective

When we spoke with past participants, many shared that the value of the Symposium wasn’t about a single insight — but about how the day helped them organise their thinking.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_TYyTPsNi8

• Charles Lee, a business consultant, shared that attending has become a yearly habit to frame his investment decisions.
  
• WJ, a management consultant, highlighted how the session with Dr. Brett Steenbarger reinforced the importance of psychology in investing.
  
• Michael Yap, an entrepreneur, found the integration of macro, industry, and company insights especially valuable.
  
• Kelly, a management trainee, shared that understanding macro forces completely changed how she viewed the market.
  
• Kamalendi, who retired last year, appreciated the clarity of the STPM process and recommended the Symposium to anyone seeking stronger financial understanding.

👉 A common theme emerges: clearer thinking, not louder opinions.

Looking Ahead to the Beyond Insights Symposium 2026

This year’s agenda reflects the realities of the market environment ahead:

• Continuation of 2025 Megatrends: Where Is Capital Flowing?
• Keynote by Alibaba Cloud on AI and digital infrastructure
• Geopolitical Chess: Investing in a Fractured World (U.S. & China)
• Fireside conversations with industry practitioners
• The New World Order: What It Takes to Stay Relevant
• 2026 Market Outlook Panel: Positioning for a Changing Global Landscape

Each segment is designed to help investors connect macro forces, industry shifts, and decision-making into one coherent framework.

Begin 2026 With a Clearer View of the Market

f you’re looking for a more grounded way to approach investing — one that balances opportunity with discipline — the Beyond Insights Symposium is designed for that purpose.

Limited seats at the event hall are available and will be selling out soon.