Record low gov’t bonds see rising interest in spread trading
With global growth slowing and developed-market government bonds at a record low, fixed income managers are focusing on opportunities in spread sectors.
Analysis
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The key value of advice in a fast changing world
In the increasingly and often unnecessarily complex world of personal finance, the biggest value of a financial adviser may be in managing customer behaviour, argues John Astrup, who runs the Zurich savings and investment propositions in the Middle East.
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ANALYSIS: Are markets in the eye of the storm?
Humans have a remarkable capacity for adaption and the investment management sector is no different.
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Damning BHS report highlights need for DB pension reform
The collapse of British department store group BHS was due largely to “systematic plunder” by its former owners, but raises ongoing concerns over the future of company pension schemes which need to be tackled soon, according to a UK parliamentary inquiry.
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Suspended UK property funds show model portfolio limitations
The UK’s largest open-ended property funds gated flows or implemented exit charges to prevent a post-Brexit run on the asset class earlier this month, trapping £15bn ($19.8bn, €18bn) of investors’ cash and casting a cloud over the City. But many flexible investors were able to see the warning signs and evade the net, says David…
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Platforms face inflection point as competition cuts margins
The ongoing technological revolution has levelled the financial services playing field globally, argues Jaco van Tonder, head of advisory services at Investec Asset Management – and with that levelling comes both risk and opportunity.
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ANALYSIS: The US is riding to the rescue
There has been no shortage of doom and gloom despite the outbreak of something resembling summer in the United Kingdom this week.
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ANALYSIS: A Bank of England U–turn?
The Bank of England has chosen to keep its powder dry by backing off from the interest rate cut that had been hinted at, but is this a U-turn or just minor detour?
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Fund selector: Upsetting the Apple cart
Falls in Apple’s share price in recent months have served to highlight its powerful influence over the tech sector’s performance – and the consequences of the Ucits’ 10% weighting cap.
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ANALYSIS: Come what May, are the odds stacked against our new PM?
Market expectations are pricing in a 77% chance of a rate cut when the MPC meets on Thursday; there were similar odds on France beating Portugal in last Sunday’s Euro 2016 final.
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Meet the Warringtons: a succession planning case study
In this, the second of a series of articles looking at wealth and succession planning from a legal perspective, Edward Stone, partner at Irwin Mitchell Private Wealth, follows a typical modern family through various key decisions.
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ANALYSIS: Is timing now more important than time in the market?
In its latest Flow Show note, Bank of America Merrill Lynch pointed out that, at current rates, it would take you 1,387 years to double your savings in a 1-year German deposit account.