Asset Allocator

The Asset Allocator Podcast is back from its summer break, but two of its hosts are not: deputy editor Damian Fantato sits in while Dave Baxter and David Thorpe are away to have a chat with Alex Funk, chief investment officer at Schroder Investment Solutions. They discuss the current state of fixed income and why Alex has been buying emerging market debt, they explore some of the equity market tre...

In this episode, Giles Parkinson, senior fund manager at Close Brothers Asset Management and David Baxter, funds editor at Investor's Chronicle, speak to Asset Allocator's contributing editor David Thorpe about the response to rising yields across the market in 2022. Investors' Chronicle readers have also felt the same concerns about fixed income in 2022. But what are the real safe haven plays? Th...

Since we have passed the half way point of 2023, Asset Allocator contributing editor David Thorpe and Damian Fantato have a chat about how balanced portfolio allocations have changed over the course of the year to date and over the past 12 months. They discuss the uptick in allocations to global funds and the changing balance between equities and bonds. They also discuss how allocators have been a...

Last week Simon Evan-Cook made his formal return to the multi-asset sector by launched the Downing Fox model portfolios. Evan-Cook came to prominence as a senior member of Premier Miton's multi-asset team, which he was a member of for 14 years before leaving in 2021. As he launches his new multi-asset proposition, Evan-Cook joins David Thorpe and Dave Baxter to discuss what he's trying to do diffe...

This week, while David Thorpe is on holiday, Dave Baxter and Damian Fantato have a chat about China and the most popular Asia Pacific funds among DFMs. They also discuss the strong start to 2023 which Japanese equities have had, and how allocators seem indifferent to this. The Asset Allocator Podcast is a fortnightly series aimed at discretionary fund managers, fund selectors and wealth managers,...

The members of the Asset Allocator 100 Club 2023 have now been published and this week David Thorpe, contributing editor at Asset Allocator, and Dave Baxter, funds editor on the Investors' Chronicle, have a chat about the funds which have made the grade. They discuss the success of smaller funds and firms this year and the fact investment trusts have had a more successful year in 2023 than in last...

UK equities have faced month after month of outflows going back years, but some funds have attracted interest from DFMs during that period and some funds have not. In this episode, which was recorded live on LinkedIn, David Thorpe, contributing editor on Asset Allocator, and Dave Baxter, funds editor on the Investors' Chronicle, have a chat about the funds which fall into those categories. They al...

**NEWS**  On May 25 at 11am we will be recording a live, interactive edition of the Asset Allocator Podcast on LinkedIn. Sign up here: https://www.linkedin.com/events/7056959728886673409/about/ There is an ongoing debate at the moment between those who are proofing against inflation, and those who are proofing against a recession. Can portfolio managers do both at the same time? This week Dav...

This week Dave Baxter, funds editor on the Investors' Chronicle, and David Thorpe, investment editor on FTAdviser, have a chat about Asset Allocator's recent coverage of equity income funds and concentration risk. They then move on to discuss the state of income portfolios more broadly and they discuss the continued outflows from UK equities, and whether the UK market is too focused on dividends o...

Rising inflation has been one of the challenges facing investors over the past year or so. But as this appears to slow, where do we stand? This week David Thorpe, contributing editor on FTAdviser, and Dave Baxter, funds editor on the Investors' Chronicle, have a chat with Dan James, head of asset management at Charles Stanley, about portfolio construction in inflationary times. They discuss income...

This week Damian Fantato, deputy editor of Asset Allocator, sits in with Dave Baxter off sick. He and David Thorpe have a chat about cash levels in DFM portfolios and how that has changed recently. They also discuss the fallout of the Silicon Valley Bank collapse, and how some of the most popular US equity funds among DFMs have large exposures to financial stocks. The Asset Allocator Podcast is a...

Speaking to David Thorpe, contributing editor of Asset Allocator, and Dave Baxter, funds editor for Asset Allocator's sister title Investors' Chronicle, Lowe said it was important to understand the terminology around sustainability and impact and how it is used. The Asset Allocator Podcast is a fortnightly series aimed at discretionary fund managers, fund selectors and wealth managers, providing i...

This week David Thorpe, investment editor at FTAdviser, and Dave Baxter, funds editor on the Investors' Chronicle, have a chat about the trials and tribulations of the absolute return sector, including Abrdn's recent decision to launch a strategic review into the Gars fund. They then move onto Abrdn's announcement this week to sell its DFM business to LGT and why they found it a bit of a perplexin...

This week David Thorpe, investment editor on FTAdviser, and Dave Baxter, funds editor on the Investors' Chronicle, are joined by Alena Kosava, head of research at AJ Bell, to discuss the challenges of investing for income in the current climate. They discuss the relative attractiveness of different types of bonds, how Alena views the UK equity market at the moment and whether it is inevitable that...

This week David Thorpe, contributing editor at FTAdviser, and Dave Baxter, funds editor on the Investors' Chronicle, had a chat about how DFMs have been adjusting their portfolios as an uncertain 2023 gets under way. They discuss the barbell approach which some DFMs appear to be taking towards fixed income duration, the use of infrastructure and the move away from more niche assets like music roya...

Investors haven't been able to ditch UK equities fast enough, with billions of outflows from these funds during 2022. But that stands in contrast to the recent performance of the FTSE 100, which has approached record highs. So how can this circle be squared? To find out, we had a chat with Fahad Kamal, chief investment officer at Kleinwort Hambros, and Georgina Taylor, head of multi-asset at Inves...

This week David Thorpe, contributing editor on FTAdviser, and Dave Baxter, funds editor on the Investors' Chronicle, reflect on 2022 and look ahead to 2023. They discuss how income investors fared better than others during 2022, the trend among DFMs away from using strategic bond funds, and they reflect on last year's rotation from growth to value investing, and how it might pan out in the coming...

After an eventful year, Alex Funk, chief investment officer at Schroders Investment Solutions, joins David Thorpe, contributing editor at FTAdviser, and Dave Baxter, funds editor at the Investors' Chronicle, to reflect on 2022. They discuss where Alex looked to find protection during the year's market turmoil, the outlook for 2023 and the challenges of trying to time a "the most forecasted recessi...

This week David Thorpe, contributing editor of FTAdviser, and Dave Baxter, funds editor of the Investors' Chronicle, are joined by Fahad Hassan, chief investment officer of Albermarle Street Partners. They discuss the ongoing risks within equities and why he has sold out of multi-asset style funds. Fahad also explains why he's considering high-yield bonds and he weighs up the pros and cons of thes...

This week Jason Day, senior investment manager at Abrdn, joins Dave Baxter, funds editor at the Investors' Chronicle, and David Thorpe, contributing editor at FTAdviser, to discuss his approach to currency hedging amid the recent volatility in markets. They also discuss why he likes the "Jurassic Park" nature of UK equities, his use of trackers and how he has shaken up his alternatives holdings re...

This week David Thorpe, contributing editor of Asset Allocator is joined by Will Thompson, portfolio manager at Pacific Asset Management, while Dave Baxter is off on his holidays somewhere more exciting than the Asset Allocator podcast studio. Thompson tells us why and how he's preparing for a hard landing, how he's thinking of adjusting his bond holdings as we reach an interest rate "tipping poin...

This week Eleanor Ingilby, deputy head of portfolio management at Atomos (which until recently was called Sanlam), joins David Thorpe, contributing editor of Asset Allocator, and Dave Baxter, funds editor of the Investors Chronicle, to discuss how she is using property to achieve diversification and whether any uncorrelated assets really exist anymore. They also discuss how Atomos's split from the...

This week Jasper Thornton-Boelman, investment director at Parmenion, joins us to discuss how he has been using bonds in his portfolios recently amid the market turmoil and whether the recent volatility has changed their risk profile. He also discusses Parmenion's historic preference for direct property over infrastructure and why that is changing. Jasper also explains his approach to equity income...

This week David Thorpe, contributing editor on FTAdviser, is joined by Matthew Yeates, deputy chief investment officer at 7IM, and Dave Baxter, funds editor on the Investors' Chronicle. They discuss why a "changing tide" in manufacturing is the reason Matthew has moved underweight equities, and why he has been sceptical about US equities in particular for a while. Matthew also explains why he's ke...

This week Dave Baxter, funds editor of the Investors' Chronicle, and David Thorpe, contributing editor of FTAdviser, are joined by James Burns, managing partner for investment management at Evelyn Partners. They discuss the higher than average equity allocation within James's portfolios compared to other DFMs - 77 per cent in his balanced portfolio - and why he might start looking to cut his...