Asset Allocator

Gene Salerno, chief investment officer for UBP UK, joins Asset Allocator's Joseph Wilkins and David Thorpe to discuss global markets, and in particular why US equities may deserve another look. The Asset Allocator Podcast discusses the big issues in UK fund selection and how wealth managers are positioning their portfolios. Sign up to the newsletter . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for mor...

The latest episode of the Asset Allocator podcast features hosts Jospeh Wilkins and David Thorpe discussing where value might be found in equity markets with Chelsea Financial Services managing director Darius McDermott, who reveals the market he thinks is the only cheap one left. The Asset Allocator Podcast discusses the big issues in UK fund selection and how wealth managers are positioning thei...

Quilter portfolio manager Sacha Chorley sat down with Asset Allocator contributing editor David Thorpe to discuss the firm's relative unqiue way of gaining alternatives exposure, the role of derivatives in asset allocation and where they are finding opportunities during the present volatile market conditions. The Asset Allocator Podcast discusses the big issues in UK fund selection and how wealth...

Rob Burdett, an industry veteran who is currently head of multi-manager investments UK at Nedgroup, joins Asset Allocator contributing editor David Thorpe to discuss why he prefers investing into mandates run by boutique fund houses, rather than with industry giants. He also discusses the changing nature of wealth management and the focus on pre-set rules, such as the requirements many investors h...

Downing’s Simon Evan-Cook tells the latest edition of the Asset Allocator podcast that he has just 30 per cent of the capital he manages in US funds, and reveals the reasons why.  That is less than half the weighting of the US market in the global benchmark, and he admits it leaves many "aghast". He also reveals the role cash and bonds play in his portfolios at a time of heightened market str...

Rob Starkey, multi-asset investor at PortfolioMetrix, joins the latest edition of the Asset Allocator podcast to give his take on the different elements to consider when choosing index funds, ranging from cost to tracking error. He also revealed what he looks for when choosing actively managed funds, and the sell discipline he deploys when a fund is not meeting expectations. The Asset Allocator Po...

The market turbulence of this year could mean actively managed funds come back into fashion, says David Aujla, multi-asset portfolio manager at Invesco, on the latest edition of the Asset Allocator podcast.  Aujla says that for many years an investor who simply owned a US equity tracker fund would have achieved good returns, but in his view the dominance of the magnificent seven group of stoc...

This week Ben Kumar, head of equity strategy at 7IM, joins David Thorpe and Joseph Wilkins to explain why 7IM sold out their healthcare exposure and which themes they are backing now. They also discuss how he’s approaching dollar weakness and what UK banking stocks can tell us about crypto as an investment. The Asset Allocator Podcast discusses the big issues in UK fund selection and how wealth ma...

Despite what may seem like Donald Trump’s best attempts, the S&P 500 continues to rise ever upwards. This week Dave Baxter and Joseph Wilkins talk to Ernst Knacke, head of investment research at Shard Capital, about whether it’s continued rise is justified or whether the markets are missing something. The Asset Allocator Podcast is a weekly series aimed at discretionary fund managers, fund sel...

This week saw the launch of Shard Capital's 'permanent portfolios' which shun the traditional 60:40 model to create a proposition to protect against major drawdowns that could result from macroeconomic and geopolitical turmoil. Dave Baxter and Joseph Wilkins discuss these portfolios and whether it is possible to create a single solution which rides out every bump. They also discuss whether increas...

Ever since Donald Trump announced he was "reforming" the US approach to trade, the question of whether the American equities and government bonds will continue to hold their pre-eminent position has been hotly debated. This week Joseph Wilkins, David Thorpe and Damian Fantato discuss the extent to which allocators are moving away from the US. They also discuss the state of the wealth management se...

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 volat...

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 aff...

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 in...

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 prot...

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 portfo...

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...

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...

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 dis...

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 da...

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...

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 likel...

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...

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 e...

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...