JPMorgan, the US investment bank, predicts 2013 will be “the first post-crisis year”, citing calmer conditions in the European credit markets, support from central banks and sustained, steady growth in China as grounds for cautious optimism.

“Investors should be moving their assets out of cash and other low-yielding assets and into securities offering returns beyond inflation,” concludes Dan Morris, global strategist at the bank.

There is a degree of unanimity among experts regarding the key asset classes. Virtually everyone agrees that core government bonds are expensive, although views differ about how long they can remain that way. Shares are generally regarded as good value in an era where central banks appear to be becoming more tolerant of inflation. “Investors have shunned equities since the financial crisis, but now is the time to reverse that strategy,” says Gayle Schumacher, head of investment office at Coutts, the private bank.