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The Asset Allocator Podcast
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This year has so far been dominated by two-high profile examples of the rule at play: Ben Whitmore’s forthcoming departure from Jupiter, and Mike Riddell’s more abrupt exit from Allianz.
Plus Peter Rutter has left Royal London to set up on his own and Peter Saacke has left Artemis to become a maths teacher (a career trajectory also being followed by Baillie Gifford's Torcail Stewart).
On this week's podcast Dave Baxter, David Thorpe and Joseph Wilkins have a chat about this spate of departures and the issue of what to do if a manager leaves more generally.
They also discuss the rush to small caps among some DFMs and where allocators go when they are feeling adventurous.
The Asset Allocator Podcast is a weekly series aimed at discretionary fund managers, fund selectors and wealth managers, providing insight into the issues that drive investment decisions.
To receive the Asset Allocator email in your inbox for free, sign up here.
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What role does factor investing play?
18:21|A lot of focus recently has been on the pros and cons of equal-weight exposure but other factors are available, such as minimum volatility, momentum and value.This week David Thorpe and Joseph Wilkins are joined by William Marshall, chief investment officer of Hymans Robertson Investment Services, to discuss why he is keen on factor investing and how he uses it.They also discuss the recent volatility seen in the fixed income market and whether alternative options exist. And they discuss the continued dominance of US equities at the expense of other regions.The Asset Allocator Podcast is a weekly series aimed at discretionary fund managers, fund selectors and wealth managers, providing insight into the issues that drive investment decisions.To receive the Asset Allocator email in your inbox for free, sign up here.
How is the economic cycle affecting portfolios?
25:37|Typically, fiscal and monetary policy is counter cyclical but in recent years this appears to have changed, most prominently in the US fiscal policy. This is complicating monetary policy and the task of running portfolios.This week David Thorpe and Joseph Wilkins are joined by Peter Dalgliesh, chief investment officer at Parmenion, to discuss how this is affecting his portfolios and how it is affecting the value and growth styles of investing.They also discuss seeking downside protection, valuations and whether US markets have reached some sort of new normal.The Asset Allocator Podcast is a weekly series aimed at discretionary fund managers, fund selectors and wealth managers, providing insight into the issues that drive investment decisions.To receive the Asset Allocator email in your inbox for free, sign up here.
Should UK gilts do the twist?
29:37|In 2011 the Federal Reserve stopped issuing 30-year bonds to "twist" the maturity profile and reduce the nominal value of US debt.This week we're joined by Henry Cobbe, the founder and head of research at Elston Consulting, who has recently written a white paper calling for a British version of what became known as "operation twist".David Thorpe and Joseph Wilkins discuss how he thinks retail investors can be incentivised to "step in where pension schemes are stepping out".They also discuss the rising price of gold and the current state of the ESG portfolio management market, based on Henry's consulting work with financial advice firms.The Asset Allocator Podcast is a weekly series aimed at discretionary fund managers, fund selectors and wealth managers, providing insight into the issues that drive investment decisions.To receive the Asset Allocator email in your inbox for free, sign up here.
What's the case for increasing exposure to the US?
19:33|At times it might seem like Donald Trump's campaign slogan was actually "make markets volatile again". If so, he seems to have succeeded.This week David Thorpe and Joseph Wilkins are joined by Nathan Sweeney, chief investment officer of multi-asset solutions at Marlborough.They discuss navigating Donald Trump's role in the markets, why he's been adding to the US and Japan and the search for protection from volatility.The Asset Allocator Podcast is a weekly series aimed at discretionary fund managers, fund selectors and wealth managers, providing insight into the issues that drive investment decisions.To receive the Asset Allocator email in your inbox for free, sign up here.
The struggles of measuring MPS performance
20:41|Comparing the performance of model portfolio solutions can sometimes be a challenge, given the difference risk levels and approaches across the market.This week David Thorpe and Joseph Wilkins discuss the trials and tribulations of achieving this, given Arc's recent decision to launch a performance index.They also discuss SDR labelling regulations and the FCA's decision to pause these for portfolio managers, and the recent recovery of a poor performing fund.The Asset Allocator Podcast is a weekly series aimed at discretionary fund managers, fund selectors and wealth managers, providing insight into the issues that drive investment decisions.To receive the Asset Allocator email in your inbox for free, sign up here.
Do risk variable portfolios work?
25:46|There are many ways to skin a cat, and even more ways to run a model portfolio service.This week Ash Weston, head of MPS at 8AM Global, joined David Thorpe and Joseph Wilkins to offer his take on some of the issues facing MPS providers.They discuss the pros and cons of investment committees, risk-variable portfolios and the tight margins in the multi-manager space.The Asset Allocator Podcast is a weekly series aimed at discretionary fund managers, fund selectors and wealth managers, providing insight into the issues that drive investment decisions.To receive the Asset Allocator email in your inbox for free, sign up here.Can you diversify away from tariff volatility?
25:05|Markets have been in a tetchy state ever since Donald Trump announced he was launching a trade war with the entire planet (or maybe not as it later turned out).This week David Thorpe and Joseph Wilkins are joined by Julien Dauchez, head of portfolio consulting at Natixis, to discuss whether it's possible to diversify away from the noise during a particularly volatile period.They also discuss why markets are particularly sensitive to geopolitical risk at the moment and whether Treasuries are still the safe haven asset we all thought they were.The Asset Allocator Podcast is a weekly series aimed at discretionary fund managers, fund selectors and wealth managers, providing insight into the issues that drive investment decisions.To receive the Asset Allocator email in your inbox for free, sign up here.
Market turmoil reveals the perils of owning US tracker funds
16:12|Donald Trump's policy decisions continue to reverberate through markets as he decides whether or not to fire Fed chair Jerome Powell.This week David Thorpe and Joseph Wilkins are joined by Eleanor Ingilby, head of high net worth clients at Atomos, to discuss her thoughts on the US market, managing volatility and why she recently upped her exposure to the UK equity market. They also discuss her fixed income exposure and balancing yield with capital appreciation for income investing clients.The Asset Allocator Podcast is a weekly series aimed at discretionary fund managers, fund selectors and wealth managers, providing insight into the issues that drive investment decisions.To receive the Asset Allocator email in your inbox for free, sign up here.
How Donald Trump liberated the markets from going up
23:37|Earlier this month US president Donald Trump announced a series of 'reciprocal' tariffs on most countries in the world. This had the effect of tanking markets across the globe.This week Dave Baxter, Joseph Wilkins and David Thorpe have a chat about the fall out of 'liberation day' and which funds rode out the turmoil better than others.They also discuss whether consumer confidence is the real danger DFMs should keep their eyes on during 2025 and they discuss the outlook for fixed income.The Asset Allocator Podcast is a weekly series aimed at discretionary fund managers, fund selectors and wealth managers, providing insight into the issues that drive investment decisions.To receive the Asset Allocator email in your inbox for free, sign up here.