As a wealth manager, we have noticed an increase in prospective clients coming to us in these first weeks of 2020 asking us to consider ESG “do no harm” issues. These are focused around the environment when constructing portfolios. The level of inquiry has been quite noticeable.
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We have purchased physical gold for these clients and they have the additional cost of storage.
There is an alternative as dicussed in this article, where we are quoted.
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What about sustainability of markets this century? There were many times through the second decade of the 21st century that we heard about how “fragile” the recovery was — how “benign” growth is — or even “sell now as a sharp correction is around the corner”. Yet in reality, the opportunity cost of having held cash over an allocation to risk-based assets in line with your risk profile was costly during the 2010s.
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In a move set to send shockwaves through the financial services industry, Mr Frydenberg has directed Treasury to hold a four-week consultation on the merits of the commissions, known as “stamping fees”, paid by fund managers, for selling their newly floated listed investment entities.
Several high-profile fund managers and financial advisers have called for the government to fix the loophole, including Magellan Financial Group’s Hamish Douglass, PM Capital’s Paul Moore, Will Hamilton and Koda Capital’s Paul Heath.
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With over 3300 attendees from around the world, the gathering provided a range of great insights — not only for China but also the broader global markets outlook for 2020.
Timing was also significant in that the Phase One agreement between China and the US over the tariff agreement has now been signed.
In looking at global markets, the broad consensus from presenters was that 2020 will see modest growth as we continue in the longest economic recovery after World War II. Ahead of the US election, many presenters saw the status quo continuing, with the Federal Reserve set to continue on hold. There is a consensus that risks are increasing with rates at record lows, but modestly.
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Chris Joye in his column has represented our view well quoting Will Hamilton, “we are paid by our clients through an advice fee, for the work that we do for them. The stamping or selling fee reverses this back on to the advisor pushing product on behalf of a fund manager as they are being paid this selling fee by the fund manager. In this way, the structure is fundamentally flawed”.
We are not a lone voice by any means on this view and other great firms have been very outspoken and leading on this issue.
As an industry, the financial advice sector is confronted by change. The industry is very much in two camps on LICs and those that accept a stamping or selling fee from fund managers, against those that charge clients simply an advice fee for conflict free advice.
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“The guidance illustrates that someone might have the money that qualifies as a wholesale investor, but if they’re not sophisticated in their knowledge base you can’t treat them as such,” said Mr Hamilton,
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