Americans 'stay optimists', 'tremendous growth' in AI to continue, says US-EU wealth manager Xavier Volatier

The US midterm elections were more than a political verdict on Donald Trump. They could also reshape the economic landscape of the world's largest economy. From Wall Street to the dollar, from interest rates to global trade, investors are watching closely what's going to happen now that Trump is weakened, and what that means for their money. So, what should investors expect, especially in Europe? Earlier, I spoke to Xavier Volatier, head of Transatlantic Private Wealth, the U.S. branch of the French Banque Transatlantique. And I wanted to know whether the midterms could be a game changer for European investors. Here's what he said. Congress will probably try to work things around AI, especially. That's the matter that we most heard of. And that's probably the biggest changes that we're going to see in the upcoming weeks and months, compared to the previous Congress we had here in the US. That should not be too much of a difference. I mean, the biggest difference we experienced the last few years were regarding the visas. I don't see many changes there, at least for the very soon. Next time, we're going to see that in the next few months, I mean. So after that blue democratic wave, markets could reassess growth expectations, bond yields and the dollars trajectory. What would be the repercussions of such developments for Europe? Obviously, we saw that overnight, I think it's already turning around a little bit. And the main repercussion for Europe, I guess it's going back to your previous question also, is again, we see a tremendous growth in AI sector, and I think it's going to keep going for many years. And we experienced that as a wealth management team here in the US, as affiliated to a French bank, as you know. We experience more and more demand from U.S. clients willing to invest in Europe on a more personal side, obviously. But I think that's dragging a lot of growth in Europe also, especially in real estate. And the Republicans lost the election partly because of deep-seated economic insecurity. Is American optimism still the driving force behind their economy? Definitely. Definitely. I mean, I've been here for now 10 years. I studied here a little bit. I know you live here also. And I think that's the key component of the US. I mean, Americans stay optimists. And that's the main difference I experience every time I go back to Europe. Honestly, that's the thing that struck me every time. And I think that even if we are facing tough time here in the US on inflation again, Still, I mean, people are able to find jobs. Their unemployment rate is still very low, and that contributes to that optimism. And what would you advise a European investor who is heavily exposed to U.S. markets? Stay the course, hedge against political risk, or diversify? I guess the key, as always, is diversification. You know, you experienced that the other way around two years ago when we saw tremendous requests from U.S. investors to diversify in currency, in assets, where we all witnessed the European market going up even in a larger number than U.S. markets last year. And I think that's also true the other way around. Diversification will always take the key.