Today's extraordinarily challenging market conditions have heightened investor uncertainty. High inflation is set to remain for the foreseeable future, following a downward trend over the last three decades. Central banks forecast that tightened monetary policy will result in sustained elevated interest rates. These shifts have dramatic implications for traditional asset classes, impacting portfolio risk management.
Structural changes in global investment markets are casting doubt on the revered 60/40 asset allocation traditionally utilised by financial advisors. Rather than boosting returns and protecting investors during downturns, it could fail to deliver an adequate mix of protection and returns.
Listed Australian Financial Services Group, InterPrac, has added Dynamic Asset Managed Account portfolios to their Approved Product List (APL).
When prospective clients ask why they should choose your advice firm over another, are you able to provide them with a compelling reason that clearly makes you stand out from the competition?
Dynamic Asset Consulting recently announced that privately-owned financial adviser dealer group Finchley & Kent has added the Dynamic Asset Managed Account and investment management solution to its approved product list (APL).
Once you've determined that your financial advice firm would benefit from the efficiency and transparency of a Managed Account solution, or you're simply starting to explore options, then the next step is to find a platform that will meet the unique needs of your business and clients.
Regulators are increasingly asserting that financial advisers must provide solutions that directly meet their clients' financial goals. At the same time, investors are demanding a better customer experience and more personalised services.
Ensuring that your advice business model is genuinely client-centric will become even more critical from 5 October 2021, when new Design and Distribution Obligations (DDO) comes into effect. This follows findings that complex product design and poor distribution practices have led to bad outcomes for consumers. Simply providing information does not always help clients make good financial decisions.
A successful retirement strategy's main objective is to ensure that a client's cash flow requirements are met and that they do not run out of money too soon.
Retirement income strategies used to be relatively straightforward. The financial adviser's traditional approach would be to transition retirees to a more defensive income-producing asset allocation to preserve capital over the long term. However, today's market dynamics mean such a strategy is unlikely to protect retirees from longevity risk or generate sufficient returns to fund their lifestyle needs. The changing environment has compelled financial advisors to rethink how they plan to deliver a secure retirement for their clients.
In recent years, there has been a chorus of leading investment managers advocating a new approach to portfolio management. Existing methods appeared frail, were beginning to fail or appeared ill-suited to the current and prospective world. Ultra-low interest rates had decimated returns from bonds and cash. At the same time, record fiscal stimulus pushed risk assets such as property and equities into bubble territory while the macroeconomic environment deteriorated.
