U.S. Capital Markets: 2024 And Beyond

Despite persistently high interest rates, inflation and geopolitical risks, the U.S. capital markets have remained active in 2024, both for equity and debt. We do not expect that the upcoming U.S. elections will have any significant impact on this trend, although a recent Supreme Court case has complicated the rulemaking functions of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Over the past eight years, the U.S. capital markets have performed well, seemingly unswayed by political and legal/regulatory changes. Under President Trump's administration, the SEC used the "promotion of capital formation" as a catchphrase and enacted some rules to simplify and modernize disclosure requirements; under President Biden's administration, the SEC has proposed and enacted several new rules that seem to lean in the direction of greater regulation. However, neither administration has altered the overall regulatory environment for U.S. capital markets in any meaningful way.