Where advisers go to stay informed

We are pleased to announce that 21 Multi-Asset funds have today been added to the FE Approved list.
The latest addition will help Financial Advisers in selecting the best of breed Multi-Asset funds for their clients' needs.

You may have seen in the press recently, the team here at FE have launched a new product in response to client feedback. FE Analytics+ Investment Planner is the latest addition to FE’s award-winning Adviser proposition. The Investment Planner brings together FE’s data capabilities, the FE Risk Scores and dynamic reporting solutions to offer Advisers a complete end-to-end investment process from profiling a client's risk appetite and capacity for loss through to selecting and reporting the most appropriate investment options for an individual client's needs. 

Written by Mikkel Bates, Regulatory Consultant at FE. First published at professionalparaplanner.co.uk.

Inflation in the UK hit a record high of 2.9% in May 2017 and is set to soar to 4% in the second half of the year as per forecasts from the National Institute of Economic and Social Research. Data from FE Analytics shows the upward trend in the UK Consumer Price Index and UK Retail Price Index over the last five years to 3.09% and 6.01% respectively (as at 10^th July 2017).

Last month, the FCA published the much-awaited results of its suitability study.
The review, having assessed 1,142 individual pieces of advice given by 656 firms against the suitability and disclosure rules in the Conduct of Business Sourcebook (COBS), found that in 93.1% of the cases the sector was providing suitable advice to investors. The regulator has called the results both positive and encouraging.

With the increase in number of Discretionary fund managers and Model Portfolio providers in the market, Advisers face a proliferation of options to consider. When using discretionary models as a part of a Centralised Investment Proposition it is critical to undertake extensive due diligence on the providers as you will be embarking on a close working relationship based on trust to achieve the best outcomes for your clients.

The FCA uses the expression research and due diligence to refer to the process carried out by the firm to assess (a) the nature of the investment (b) its risks and benefits and (c) the provider. The firm needs to understand these factors in order to judge whether the solution is suitable for their particular client base. With this in mind, we look at 7 key areas to consider before partnering with a discretionary service provider.

In the previous blog post Measuring and managing investment risk: Part 1, we looked at the popularity of volatility as a measure of risk and how FE Analytics can help in effectively monitoring it. Although volatility is a common measure of risk, it comes with certain inherent limitations when forecasting future performance or planning for worst case scenarios; hence Advisers ought to be mindful of an overreliance on volatility as the primary source of risk evaluation and management.

Assessing the level of risk in a particular instrument and understanding its role within a client’s portfolio is key to ensuring the suitability of your investment advice. This relationship between investment risk and suitability is currently under increased focus from the FCA, as it analyses reports from over 700 firms ahead of its suitability review that is due to be published this year.  In keeping with the theme, FE conducted a survey over the Christmas period to assess Advisers’ attitude to risk with a view to better understanding how our clients identify, measure and manage investment risk.

Our focus at FE is to support Advisers, planners and wealth managers in selecting the best and most suitable investment options for their clients. In addition to award-winning research tools on FE Analytics, we offer a set of simple, reliable and accurate ratings which can uniquely work together, whatever your investment style.