Superannuation investment managers predict the Reserve Bank will not cut rates until the middle of the year, but say investors should remain cautiously optimistic about the economy in 2025 despite continued inflation and potential volatility from Donald Trump’s second presidency.

Five chief investment officers in charge of the nation’s $4.1 trillion retirement savings pool said an interest rate cut at one of the RBA’s mid-year meetings – May or July – loomed most likely. While a cut would deliver cost-of-living relief for home loan borrowers, such a date would be too late to provide a political boost for the Albanese government ahead of the federal election, which is due by May 17.