Everyone has heard about the bitcoin bubble; Neil Woodford has warned of a new tech bubble; and now investors are voicing concerns about a passives bubble. But if such a bubble exists, is it ready to burst? Or will index funds continue to steal market share away from their active peers?
Net retail sales of Sterling Strategic Bond funds neared £1.5bn ($2.02bn, €1.69bn) for the second month in a row in November 2017, taking the total raised by the sector for the year to £7.25bn, according to the Investment Association.
The rule requiring managers to report any 10% fall in a portfolio to clients will do little to discourage the buy high/sell low mentality of the man on the street, but, that said, it remains unlikely that Mifid II will push markets into a downward spiral.
With inheritance tax payments hitting a record high at the end of 2017, the new year is a good time for advisers to ensure that clients are being as tax efficient as possible when passing on wealth to future generations, law firm Collyer Bristow has advised.
“Much more needs to be done” by the big three credit ratings agencies to incorporate environmental, social and governance (ESG) concerns into their issuer ratings, according to Neuberger Berman.
Whenever a fund manager has a prolonged period of success in their area, certain terms get bandied about as to their status within that field. One favourite used by journalists is ‘guru’, indicating a manager has moved on from ordinary status, to the extraordinary.
Brexit aside, this year looks set to be the turning point when the number of British retirees living in Europe slips into decline.
Complications with trust arrangements can be eased by using a bond wrapper to hold any investment, according to Canada Life technical manager Neil Jones.
While the pace of change may differ between clients, for the future of ESG investments the only way is up. So, how at risk are the funds or wealth managers that do not manage to move to a full ESG-process across a client’s entire portfolio?
India is thought to have more citizens living abroad than any other country in the world, estimated by its government to exceed 30 million.
Regulatory activity across the world shows no signs of abating as 2018 gets up and running.
Many financial advisers have spent far too long asking clients all the wrong questions and failing to listen to what they really want, according to international business consultant Brian Foster.
