Changes in regulation coupled with a transformation in client expectations and increased use of technology means financial advisers need to review their business model to ensure they have a business that is future fit, says Old Mutual Wealth’s Mike Leeson.
Not being a student of Keynesian theory, I’ve been somewhat confused by the oft mentioned revival in ‘animal spirits’. Rather than bulls and bears, investors should beware the headless chickens.
The US airstrike on Syria and disappointing jobs data immediately brought down markets last week, and investment managers are beginning to protect their portfolios against more of the same.
Only one-in-three European insurance companies take environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria into account when investing, and most of these do so because of regulatory pressure, according to a survey by Axa IM.
The threat of protectionist US policies has weakened the yuan and caused concerns among some investors, but a more protectionist stance from the US might actually benefit China.
If 2016 taught investors anything it was that the market’s response to macroeconomic events is unpredictable at best. History tells us Donald Trump’s election and the Brexit vote should have derailed markets, but they proved remarkably resilient.
Asia has traditionally been the principal market outside the UK for international life business but growth in sales from the two key regional hubs of Hong Kong and Singapore has come to a halt, says Provisca founder Bryan Low.
UK prime minister Theresa May picked an early fight with EU leaders in her letter formally triggering the UK’s Brexit process though bond, equity and currency markets hardly responded. But perhaps they should have.
Although European stocks have gotten caught in the cross-hairs of Wednesday’s Trump trade downturn, with the earnings recovery underway, it would be a mistake for investors to discount them.
Many advisers woke up last Thursday morning aware their pipeline Qrops business had just been vastly reduced, says James Pearcy-Caldwell, co-founder of fee-based adviser Aisa International.
Quilter Cheviot’s Alan McIntosh is optimistic about what president Trump will mean for markets but with Brexit and European elections still to come this year, he is hedging some of his bets.
While there are many benefits to living in France, estate planning is not one of them, explains Jason Porter, director of European IFA firm Blevins Franks. After taking a look at succession tax last week, this week he breaks down succession laws that are complex, and which many feel are unfair.
