The Asset Allocator Podcast

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.

Tacit Investment Management has one of the highest exposures to high-yield bonds of all the portfolio managers we cover.This week we are joined by Kypros Charalambous, investment director at Tacit, to find out they pivoted to high-yield bonds since 2022 and the role it plays in their portfolios.He also explains why Tacit prefers a smaller number of holdings and a more concentrated portfolio, and his fund manager red flags.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 rising price of gold has been one of the stories of early 2025 so far and Stuart Clark, who runs Quilter's Wealthselect portfolios, is one of the allocators with a long-standing allocation to precious metals.This week he joins David Thorpe and Joseph Wilkins to discuss this thinking on this holding and whether gold's continued strong performance can continue.They also discuss  the likelihood of stagflation in the US and whether the European rotation can be sustained.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 year has started brightly for the European market, with the Euro Stoxx 50 up more than 10 per cent since the start of 2025. But is that a sign Europe has turned a corner?This week Ian Rees, head of multi-manager at Premier Miton, joins David Thorpe and Joseph Wilkins to discuss whether this is the case or not.They also discuss the challenges of US exceptionalism and the UK listed funds 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.

US president Donald Trump has said there might be "a little disturbance" as he imposes tariffs he claims are necessary. But fears of a recession in the US are growing.This week Joseph Wilkins and David Thorpe are joined by Philip Chandler, chief investment officer of multi-asset at Schroders, to discuss whether investors should start worrying.They also discuss the pivot from the US to European equities which some investors are making and how elevated geopolitical risk affects his portfolio decisions.Then they discuss the price of gold, which has reached record levels, and what can be drawn from that fact.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.

Since the start of 2025, the S&P 500 is down nearly 5 per cent due in part to Donald Trump's 'will he, won't he' approach to tariffs. This week tariffs were on again (before they weren't) so the US bluechip index fell by more than 3 per cent.This comes after a period of several years when it seemed like the world revolved around US equities and the strong returns they provided.In this week's episode of the Asset Allocator Podcast, David Thorpe and Joseph Wilkins are joined by Peter Dalgliesh, chief investment officer at Parmenion, to discuss the fall out.They discuss how he views the outlook for US equities and what he's doing about it.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.

Last year saw a spike in the number of fund manager departures, which were at their highest level since Covid.This week David Thorpe, Joseph Wilkins and Dave Baxter have a chat about why that might be and how portfolio managers mitigate this.They also discuss the latest Spot the Dog list of underperforming funds and Fidelity's success at moving into the passive space, with some of its tracker funds now more popular than its storied active funds such as Fidelity Special Situations.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.

For better or worse, Donald Trump's first few weeks in the White House have involved a flurry of activity - which the markets have always appreciating some of the new US president's decisions.This week David Thorpe and Dave Baxter make up for Joseph Wilkins' decision to go on holiday by chatting with Gene Salerno, chief investment officer at Kleinwort Hambros, about how he is handling political risk.He also discuss allocating defensively in the current environment and whether weak consumer confidence means we are at an inflection point.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.

If volatility has made a comeback, are equal-weight indices the solution to this problem? Or do they present different issues?This week David Thorpe, Dave Baxter and Joseph Wilkins have a chat about the pros and cons of these trackers.They also discuss the case for European equities and whether their time has finally come. And finally they explore DFMs’ preference for gilts over Treasuries.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.