Changing Times – 50 Years of UK Pensions

Reading Time: 3 minutes A lot has changed since 1962, particularly in the world of finance and pensions. UBS recently published a weighty tome containing some fascinating data on global markets and pension funds: A long-term perspective on pension fund investment Worth a read, one thing I found particularly interesting was the long-term data going back 50 years on … More Changing Times – 50 Years of UK Pensions

Many Happy (Asset) Returns – part 1

Reading Time: 2 minutes It can be easy to forget when caught up in day-to-day events and headlines that we’ve been through an incredibly benign and profitable period for any individual or organisation investing in financial markets. One way of illustrating this, which we particularly like is to look not just at the returns that have been generated, but a measure … More Many Happy (Asset) Returns – part 1

Which Investment Strategies Will Thrive in 2015 ?

Reading Time: 2 minutes We see literally hundreds of fund managers and investment strategies a year; which do we think are most likely to be successful in 2015? We really see three important things to focus on: risk, diversification, and freedom. Let’s take each of those in turn. Risk. This might sound obvious, but as we see it, the … More Which Investment Strategies Will Thrive in 2015 ?

3 ways to protect a portfolio against downside risks

Reading Time: 4 minutes Tail risk hedging seems to be a popular topic at the moment, why? Markets are at highs, but plenty of risks remain. While equity markets have rallied considerably in recent years – The equity market (as measured by the MSCI World Index) is up over 30% since Mario Draghi proclaimed the ECB had “removed tail risk for … More 3 ways to protect a portfolio against downside risks

A lot can happen in 5 years, the rear view mirror and the road ahead

Reading Time: 4 minutes When “Past performance is not necessarily a guide to the future” has never seemed more apt The rear view mirror It’s now been just over 5 years since equity markets hit their lows at the peak of the fallout from the banking/credit crises of 2008. A lot can happen in 5 years. This year’s crop of … More A lot can happen in 5 years, the rear view mirror and the road ahead

Update: Good News now really is Good News

Reading Time: 2 minutes Mohamed El-Erian of PIMCO put out a great blog piece a few days ago, the gist of which was, to paraphrase: – Major equity markets reacted negatively to the seemingly better-than-expected US Q3 GDP print, and twitter IPO on Thursday November 7th – Major equity markets reacted positively to the better-than-expected October jobs report on Friday November … More Update: Good News now really is Good News