What's shaping today's client conversations? A view from Clarksons Securities Oslo

While markets have changed significantly over the past few years, the pace of change has accelerated even further over the last 12 months, creating new challenges and opportunities across shipping, energy, and capital markets.

The conversations taking place across capital markets today are being shaped by a combination of geopolitical uncertainty, evolving energy priorities, technological disruption and shifting investor expectations. Across Clarksons' Oslo Securities teams, these themes are repeatedly appearing in discussions with investors, corporates, shipowners, and financial institutions.

To better understand what is driving client conversations today, we spoke with Clarksons Securities in Oslo – including colleagues across our Investment Banking, Equity & Credit Research, Sales & Trading, and Shipping Project Finance teams.

A different market than five years ago

Many of today's market discussions can be traced back to a broader shift in how investors, businesses and policymakers think about energy.

Five years ago, sustainability was often the primary lens through which new energy investments were viewed. Energy was relatively abundant, funding was widely available, and low interest rates created favourable conditions for investment. As a result, environmental considerations frequently dominated discussions around future energy development.

Since then, a series of geopolitical events, including the Russia-Ukraine war and more recent tensions in the Middle East, have reshaped energy flows, increased costs, and renewed focus on energy security.

Today, the conversation is more nuanced. Sustainability remains an important consideration, but energy affordability, reliability, and security have become equally important priorities. This shift has contributed to renewed investment in traditional energy sectors, while continuing to support growth in renewables, battery metals, and the wider energy transition.

At the same time, Norwegian capital markets have strengthened significantly. Shipping has performed particularly well, supported by strong fundamentals and improved earnings visibility. Offshore energy has rebounded as energy security concerns have renewed focus on oil and gas investment, while the Norwegian bond market has grown in both size and international relevance.

Four themes dominating client conversations

Geopolitics and energy security

If there is one topic that consistently dominates conversations today, it is the relationship between geopolitics and energy markets.

Clients are closely monitoring developments in the Middle East, the Strait of Hormuz, and the potential implications for oil prices, global energy supply, inflation, and economic growth. Questions that once focused primarily on sustainability are increasingly centred on energy security and supply resilience.

According to Fredrik Stene (Head of Research, Equity & Credit Research) many clients are trying to understand not only how events may impact markets today, but how they could reshape investment activity over the coming years.

As events continue to evolve, investors are increasingly seeking insight into where capital may flow, which sectors stand to benefit, and how changing energy priorities may influence future market opportunities.

Building resilient portfolios

In an environment characterised by geopolitical uncertainty and concerns about broader economic growth, many investors are reassessing how portfolios are positioned. For equity investors, this has often translated into increased interest in dividend-paying companies and more liquid assets as they seek to de-risk portfolios while maintaining exposure to attractive opportunities. The objective is not necessarily to avoid risk altogether, but to better understand where risk exists and how portfolios can be positioned to navigate an increasingly uncertain market environment.

Alongside geopolitical concerns, investors are placing greater emphasis on resilience. Across both equity and fixed income markets, discussions are increasingly centring on risk management, portfolio quality, liquidity, and downside protection.

Shipping markets and capital allocation

Naturally, shipping is a major focus area for clients across the Clarksons Oslo Securities business. Following several years of strong market performance, asset values and charter rates in certain segments have reached historically high levels. This has created significant value for many shipowners while also generating new investment opportunities across the sector.

According to Håkon Røsaker (Managing Director, Shipping Project Finance), current market conditions are creating interesting capital allocation dynamics.

As owners realise gains in one segment, some are increasingly looking beyond their traditional markets for new opportunities. For example, shipowners who have benefited from strong returns in container or tanker markets may look to deploy capital into dry bulk or other segments where relative value appears more attractive. Understanding these evolving investment patterns is becoming an increasingly important part of client discussions as businesses seek to position themselves for the next phase of the market cycle.

AI and long-term transformation

While geopolitical developments dominate many near-term conversations, artificial intelligence continues to shape thinking about the future. The pace of technological change means AI is no longer viewed as a specialist topic. It has become a strategic consideration for investors, management teams, and boards alike.

Across sectors, clients are exploring how AI could improve productivity, create competitive advantages, and transform existing business models. At the same time, they are assessing where disruption may occur and which businesses are best positioned to adapt. For the Oslo Securities teams, helping clients understand both the opportunities and risks associated with emerging technologies is becoming a more prominent part of discussions.

Connecting local knowledge with global expertise

While the Securities team in Oslo provides deep sector expertise, many of the industries they serve are inherently international. Shipping markets are global, offshore energy activity spans continents and capital flows move quickly across borders. Understanding these industries requires more than local market knowledge alone. As Erik Helberg, Chief Executive Officer, Securities, explains:

"We work closely with colleagues across several global offices, with particularly frequent interaction with teams in London and New York."

These relationships extend across the wider Clarksons global network, including colleagues in Houston, Singapore, Dubai, Brazil, and more. By sharing perspectives and market intelligence across regions, teams are able to develop a more complete understanding of the forces shaping client industries. Helberg explains:

"No market operates in isolation. Being able to connect insights from different regions helps us better understand market developments and provide more informed advice to our clients."

For clients, this means benefiting from both specialist local expertise and a broader international perspective.

Looking ahead

While the specific questions dominating headlines may change from month to month, the Oslo Securities team is seeing that the underlying themes in client discussions remain remarkably consistent. Clients are looking for clarity in an increasingly complex environment. They want to understand how geopolitical developments may influence energy markets, where investment opportunities are emerging, how to position portfolios for resilience, and what technological change may mean for the future.

By combining expertise across Investment Banking, Sales & Trading, Equity & Credit Research, and Shipping Project Finance, Clarksons' Oslo Securities teams continue to help clients make sense of evolving markets, identify opportunities, and stay ahead of the trends shaping the global economy.

Connect with our Oslo Securities team to discuss the trends shaping today's markets.

Securities | Erik Helberg

Securities | Sales & trading | Fredrik Sandberg

Securities | Equity & Credit Research | Fredrik Stene

Securities | Shipping Project Finance | Håkon Røsaker