Let’s face it—to some, predicting the future of investing may seem like trying to forecast the weather with a Magic 8-Ball. But that doesn’t mean we’re not going to try. We have asked a few of TD Asset Management Inc.'s (TDAM) deepest thinkers to step away from their spreadsheets and crystal balls to answer two questions that look beyond the next quarter and into the next decade.

BIG: What’s one disrupter or major shift you think will shake up the investment world in the next ten years?

MICHAEL: As the global economy outside the U.S. begins to heavily invest in domestic self-reliance—focusing on building sustainable supply chains and stimulating internal demand—the investment implications can be profound.

Investors may shift capital toward emerging and middle-income markets that are scaling up domestic infrastructure, clean energy, manufacturing, and consumer sectors. Countries like Canada, Germany, France and Japan which have been consistently exporting savings to the U.S. economy could become major beneficiaries of capital flows. Global firms heavily reliant on U.S. demand may face headwinds, while domestic champions and regional players could see outsized returns.

From an investment solution standpoint, there could also be a shift towards more localized ETFs and thematic funds. Examples could include a surge in funds focused on self-reliance themes—domestic production, onshoring, regional infrastructure, and energy transition—especially in Europe and Canada. Moreover, investors will need to navigate new geopolitical dynamics and diversify currency exposure, as dollar dominance may erode in favour of multi-currency strategies aligned with new economic blocs.

The “rest of the world” investing inward could rebalance global capital flows, decentralize growth narratives, and create new alpha-generating opportunities—especially for investors willing to go beyond traditional Western markets.

KEVIN: I see a challenge developing within the next decade - the exponentially growing use of AI by individuals, companies, and state actors to spread misinformation. We are all going to be overwhelmed by such dishonesty and deception, made even worse by AI models' tendency to hallucinate. I expect that over 90% of content (text, image, video, and audio) to soon be AI generated. In a world in which we are all increasingly concerned about accuracy, bias, and manipulation, how will we be able to differentiate between reliable content and misrepresentation?

Two solutions: Few tools exist today that reliably verify AI-generated content in real time, especially across modalities (text, image, video). Part of the solution will be tools, possibly akin to antispam and antivirus software. Such tools will likely be a critical component of building trust infrastructure for the AI-driven economy. This is a billion-dollar opportunity in the making.

Equally important will be building brands as trusted sources of reliable content. Influencers, media professionals, and companies that can prove their content is accurate—or quickly debunk false claims—will earn trust and gain an enormous edge in saturated markets.

VITALI: The average citizen and investor believe AI will ultimately add to employment. That view is grounded in history: technological revolutions have disrupted labour markets in the short-term but created more jobs than they eliminated in the long-term. For example, the industrial revolution eliminated manual textile jobs but gave rise to factory management, engineering, and logistics professions.

So why might this time be different? Historically, new technologies raised living standards, expanded the middle class, and created new work by enabling more consumption. Moreover, in the past 50 years, digital innovation has introduced enormous complexity – and countless jobs – into the world. Today, both of these labour-generating trends – consumption and complexity – are facing headwinds. Consumption is near its peak while complexity in all areas of society is in the crosshairs of AI who is on a mission to simplify it all away.

This will be a slow-moving train, but here is my view: the advantages over the next decades lie with capital and not labour which will become increasingly commoditized. Implications for society, government, and corporate earnings are vast.

HUSSEIN: AI’s rapid growth is creating unprecedented demand for computing power, which in turn is putting intense pressure on global energy infrastructure. Data centers powering AI models require vast amounts of electricity, often concentrated in regions already facing tight energy supply. This surge in demand constrains overall power availability, contributing to higher and more volatile energy prices as grids struggle to keep up.

At the same time, this dynamic is accelerating investment in energy storage and backup solutions—from grid-scale batteries to alternative backup systems—driving a meaningful growth opportunity. The more AI scales, the more critical stable, flexible, and resilient energy systems become, positioning storage technologies and energy infrastructure as essential growth sectors in the AI-driven economy.

BOLD: Give me your boldest, most outrageous prediction for what the investing landscape will look like by 2035. Flying cars? AI fund managers? A stock market on Mars? Nothing’s too wild—let’s hear it.

MICHAEL: If the U.S. moves toward a more isolationist stance and the U.S. Dollar’s dominance in global trade diminishes, it opens the door to alternative systems for settling international transactions—and one of the most plausible developments in this vacuum is the emergence of digital currencies backed by a basket of global currencies.

A basket-backed digital currency, like a Special Drawing Rights (SDR) but digitized, could offer a more stable and politically neutral alternative to the U.S. Dollar, reducing exposure to any one country’s monetary policy or geopolitical decisions. Governments and central banks can leverage these to build a central bank digital currency (CBDC) system that’s interoperable and built on a neutral, rules-based architecture. Building on this, a supranational institution or a consortium of central banks could issue a digital trade currency, backed by a weighted mix of major currencies (e.g., euro, yuan, yen, rupee, and a portion of USD).

If global trade needs a neutral, digital, and less politicized currency alternative to the U.S Dollar, a basket-backed digital currency is a credible and increasingly realistic evolution. It’s not a short-term shift, but if the U.S. Dollar weakens—either by policy or perception—it could be the architecture that defines the next era of globalization.

KEVIN: I am thinking AI leads to "vaccines" for most cancers by 2035. In terms of first-order effects, such breakthroughs would trigger a massive shift in capital. Many biotech and healthcare stocks would surge, attracting major institutional and retail investment. Traditional cancer treatment companies might decline, while startups and firms involved in immunotherapy, gene editing, and personalized medicine would become prime investment targets. Overall, it would spark a new biotech boom, like the post-COVID vaccine rally, but on a larger and more sustained scale.

Regarding second-order effects, they would rival that of antibiotics and vaccines for infectious diseases—ushering in a new era of health, longevity, and hope. If the average life span increased by, say ten years, it could have a revolutionary impact on how we think about education, our careers, and retirement planning.

VITALI: Entertainment is about to get radically personal. AI won't just change what we watch – it will reshape how content is made, customized, and consumed. AI models will learn your preferences and generate characters, plots, and even endings tailored to your personality and mood. Didn't like the end of Succession? Prefer Walter White wins? AI can rewrite the story – just for you.

And with advances in virtual and augmented reality, you won't just watch – you'll step into your favorite worlds. Be a Jedi in Star Wars, a detective in True Detective, or live out a new season in the Office, starring you. With AI, you're no longer the audience. You'll be the main character.

HUSSEIN: If the next decade is defined by global stagflation—persistently high inflation with low growth—while the U.S. lurches from crisis to crisis and China grapples with deeper-than-expected structural issues, the global economy could become fragmented, volatile, and risk-averse.

Slow global growth becomes the norm, with weak productivity and strained consumer demand. Inflation remains sticky, driven by supply shocks, commodity pressures, and deglobalization. Policy tools lose effectiveness, as central banks are trapped between supporting growth and fighting inflation. Confidence in the U.S. and China erodes, shifting the balance of economic leadership.

From an investment standpoint, Real assets and inflation hedges (like commodities, gold and infrastructure) outperform. Geographic diversification becomes critical as investors look to smaller, more stable economies with sound policy and demographics (e.g., Canada, India, parts of the Middle East). Volatility becomes structural, rewarding nimble strategies like active management and alternatives. And equity returns compress, particularly in U.S. and China-focused indexes, while non-traditional sectors and frontier markets may offer pockets of growth.

In this world, resilience, adaptability, and a global lens become key themes for investors. This thinking is front and centre at TDAM.

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