The International Monetary Fund’s decision to downgrade the UK’s growth forecast for 2017 was likely a wake-up call for some investors. But is it a signal of more dire times ahead? Or just another year of mediocre growth?
The Financial Conduct Authority wants to use the platform review to drive more competition in the asset management sector, but experts are asking whether it is looking in the wrong place.
Despite positive economic indicators, uncertainty over US interest rates, political risk and high valuations are casting shade on global equities, says Rory McPherson, head of investment strategy at Psigma.
In addition to slashing their underweights in the US to a nine-year low, BofA Merrill Lynch’s latest Fund Manager Survey showed that global fund managers are increasingly regaining their appetite for Japan.
The active funds industry must shrink, cut prices, better-align itself with investors and differentiate if it wants to compete against a passive onslaught, according to a report by Morningstar.
Hot on the heels of the US, the UK has reported weaker than expected inflation data and like its opposite number on the other side of the pond, the Bank of England is now faced with a quandary over rate rises.
Some 12 months on from the carnage open-ended property funds experienced in the wake of the Brexit vote, investors seem to be returning to the sector once more.
Further US rate rises before the end of the year have become less likely after the US Labor Department reported weaker than expected inflation and retail figures on Friday.
Performance fees are often seen as a necessary evil. But the unambitious hurdle rates most funds employ mean fund managers also get rewarded for underwhelming performance. Is that fair?
Woodford loves them, and yesterday Barratt Developments offered a taste of why UK housebuilders have been a favoured sector for the star manager with its annual results showing profits up 12%.
Has the FCA asset management review missed a trick by not expanding its demands for transparency to wealth management?
Portfolio advisers have been looking at equity market valuations rather nervously for some time tilting towards less risky assets, taking profits and holding more cash.
