International Platform Focus: Discretionary Investment Management on Platforms

Jonathan and Elliot will be discussing the investment risks and opportunities the current environment presents for our clients, including:

- rising geopolitical risk in recent times, from trade wars and political unrest to Brexit, and the extent of their impact on investors and markets, with the correlation of these worries often being less than feared.

- considerations of these various headline risks in a systematic manner, highlighting key developments for each of the main geopolitical issues that we are facing.

- a focus on US political dynamics, in light of US Elections in 2020, and how they can affect investment returns over the coming years.

Our latest Defensive Capital Fund market update for October 2019

Our latest Defensive Capital Fund market update for September 2019

Featuring guest speakers from Defaqto, Asset Risk Consultants, threesixty and AKG Financial Analytics, the webinar will assist professional advisers and paraplanners with the seven step approach to DFM due diligence.

Our latest Defensive Capital Fund market update for July 2019

George Latham, Managing Partner at WHEB Asset Management, and Ben Palmer, Investment Director and Head of Responsible Investment Research at Brooks Macdonald, discuss the concept of sustainability, the growing issues that the world is facing, how the policy agenda and societal attitudes are changing and how investors can contribute to addressing these issues whilst also generating a strong investment return.

Join Jonathan Webster-Smith, Head of the Multi Asset Team, and Willem Klijnstra, Asset Allocation Strategist at Legal & General Investment Management as they explore fair value for Sterling/USD in a post-Brexit world.

In this webinar we discuss the Monetary Illusion, a term made famous by John Maynard Keynes which describes the tendency of investors to fixate on higher nominal returns rather than focus on real returns.

Kamil Dimmich from North of South Capital LLP, Co-manager of Pacific North of South EM All Cap Equity Strategy will discuss why this is particularly true in some emerging markets where local currency bonds can have huge coupons but inflation makes that number incomparable with a developed market bond such as a gilt. In this educational talk we will try to unravel how you can compare rates across countries and continents to ensure you don’t fall foul of this common investor trap.

A Responsible Investment Webinar focussing on social bonds from an impact and performance perspective, featuring special guest Columbia Threadneedle. We will discuss the changing landscape of responsible investment, highlighting the innovation that is allowing the construction of multi asset, risk adjusted portfolios that meet both your social and performance needs.

Join us to learn more about:

Growth and innovation in the responsible investment market;
What are social bonds?
Key social themes being addressed
The investment case
Charity and investment partnerships

For our next investment webinar Edward Park, Deputy Chief Investment Officer, is delighted to welcome Karen Ward, Chief Market Strategist for EMEA at J.P. Morgan Asset Management.

During the webinar, Karen will:

- Review some of the key political events that have led us to where we are today.
- Discuss what the potential next steps for the Brexit process may be, and look at the key political drivers in determining the outcome.
- Consider the market implications for sterling, interest rates, and broader markets.

Join Jonathan Webster-Smith, Head of the Multi Asset Team, and Carlos Moreno and Thomas Brown, co-fund managers of the LF Miton European Opportunities Fund as they examine opportunities and risks for European equities.

The case for why long-term investors should seek to invest in quality companies with clear secular growth opportunities at a reasonable valuation, and then endeavour to do the hardest part – nothing.

2018 has been a tough year for most asset classes as a broad range of concerns have surfaced to weigh on investor sentiment. Investors hate uncertainty and there has been plenty of that for them to digest.

Are all these concerns justified or has there been a divergence between perception and reality? We will look at a number of the more important concerns that are likely to shape the outlook for financial markets in 2019 to see whether that is the case or not:

• Economic growth and inflation outlook
• Monetary policy outlook
• Market valuations

Join us as Charlie Thomas will consider how three related investment drivers of People, Policy and Technological Progress are shaping the landscape for sustainable investment, connecting the dots between a burgeoning global ‘middle class’, the mounting challenge of plastic waste, and a transformation of how we consume energy.

The webinar will also look ahead to the looming prospect of far-reaching regulation of sustainable investment and ESG in 2019, drawing conclusions on whether this will help or hinder investors.

Robotics, automation & artificial intelligence (RAAI) may be one of the most important investment opportunities of our generation. The multi- decade transition to a world dominated by RAAI technologies is still in its infancy and the ingredients for a major breakthrough are already in place.

In this webinar, Edward Park is joined by Richard Lightbound of Robo Global, who will discuss the investment themes that they believe will shape this exciting opportunity. The revolution is happening now!

Richard Lightbound has worked for 15+ years within the financial services sector with Wells Fargo and Standard Chartered Bank in senior management positions with responsibility for Institutional and Corporate clients across Europe, MENA and Asia. Richard enjoyed a 7 year break from banking to join an early cloud computing company funded by Warburg Pincus and now part of Infor. Richard launched and managed operations across Asia and Europe. In 2014 Richard joined ROBO Global and in addition to managing daily operations in Europe and Asia, he is responsible for executing business strategy and serves on the Index Committee. Richard is a frequent speaker at Robotics & Automation conferences and events. During his career Richard has lived and worked in Hong Kong, USA, Europe and Sri Lanka.

Jonathan Webster-Smith will present an update of the performance of our Managed Portfolio Service and will be joined by Edward Rumble of RWC partners who will be presenting fundamental analysis of, and the alpha opportunity in European equities

Following a strong 2017, Emerging Market equities have retreated over 15% from their highs in January 2018. But what’s driven this underperformance? And what’s the outlook for earnings over the next year?

Join us as James Ashley, Head of International Market Strategy at Goldman Sachs, discusses the Emerging Markets, covering:

- The macro background;
- EM fundamentals and
- Performance outlook.

Featuring guest speakers from Defaqto, Asset Risk Consultants, threesixty and AKG Financial Analytics, the webinar will assist professional advisers and paraplanners with the seven-step approach to DFM due diligence.

Rather than de-globalising, we believe the world has entered a new era defined by intangible flows of data and information, based on powerful new digital infrastructure. This is not purely driven by large, western multinational companies, but also allowing small and medium-sized enterprises from emerging markets which are ‘born global’ and to become micro multinationals from day one. Join us as Steve discusses some of the major implications of this convergence between globalisation and digitisation, and how this is creating truly global markets and changing the economics of doing business. He will go on to explain how companies with innovative business models and disruptive technologies are altering the landscape and how they are well suited to adapt and survive in the current environment of escalating trade tensions.