For the past few years, we’ve been saying that traditional strategic asset allocation (SAA) is going to stuggle going forward, and therefore no longer fit for purpose in a world defined by geopolitics, deglobalisation, sticky inflation, and unsustainable debt levels.
In today’s complex market environment, the choice of investment approach is more than just a portfolio decision - it’s a business-defining one. For financial planning firms and dealer groups, the investment philosophy they choose to work with can either strengthen their client relationships or quietly undermine them.
Advisers know that the risks of following an outdated investment approach, or one that may not work well in these times, extends well beyond poor portfolio performance. They can ripple into client trust, business reputation, compliance risk, and long-term commercial sustainability.
For decades, Strategic Asset Allocation (SAA) has been the cornerstone of portfolio construction. From super funds to retail advice practices, it became the “default setting” — the framework advisers trusted to manage client capital through all market conditions.
For much of the past four decades, Strategic Asset Allocation (SAA) has formed the foundation of portfolio construction. The principle is simple: establish a long-term mix of equities, bonds, and alternatives based on risk tolerance, rebalance periodically, and maintain discipline. In a world of globalisation, falling inflation, and declining interest rates, that framework worked exceptionally well.
For decades, retail investors have been handed the same investment framework: static strategic asset allocation, risk profiles labelled “conservative,” “balanced,” or “growth,” and the assumption that history always repeats. That framework worked in the disinflationary decades of falling rates and globalisation — but today it looks fragile.
Inflation is sticky. Growth is slowing. Debt is piling up. Geopolitical tensions and currency debasement are front-page news. Investors can no longer afford to rely on old rules of thumb.
That’s why we built Dynamic Asset — to change the playbook.
Investors today are navigating one of the most complex market backdrops in decades — inflation risks, geopolitical tensions, shifting central bank policy, and a world in transition from fossil fuels to new technologies.
Against this environment, our Wealth Builder and Wealth Protector portfolios have delivered exceptional results over the past 12 months.
With the end of the financial year, it’s a good time to take a deep breath and refocus on everything else you need to do in an advice business and plan for how you want to manage things in the year ahead.
