In the KNOW blog

Our head of multi-asset investments, David Coombs, gazes into his crystal ball as he prepares for 2019.

From the Caribbean to Costa, multi-asset investments head David Coombs arrived back from holiday in time for another lurch downward for the pound. He explains why currency moves will be crucial to returns in January.

As you tuck into some left-over turkey on Boxing Day, desperate to keep the conversation from drifting to Brexit, here’s our suggestion for five things to consider that we hope will help you and your loved ones have many prosperous new years to come.

We’ve seen in our first two blogs in our series on brands how millennials are driving big changes in the consumer landscape, and some of the challenges posed to global branded goods – challenges faced by smaller and more personalised businesses like advisers too. In this final instalment, we explore how established businesses can thrive in this ‘brand new world’.

Nobody knows for sure who first coined the maxim that politics, religion and money should never be discussed in polite company. We live in a society where the right to free speech is taken for granted, but as far as advisers are concerned, one thing is certain – the first two topics should definitely be handled with care.

David Coombs tried as hard as he could to buy a suit from the high street, but they just weren’t selling. Our multi-asset investments head worries deep-seated problems are behind poor performance from UK retailers.

Whether rolling cheese down a hill, braving the chaos of a Spanish fiesta or investing in the stock market, you should always take precautions, argues Will McIntosh-Whyte, assistant manager of our multi-asset funds.

Ten years on from the nationalisation of virtually the whole UK banking sector, it’s now a much safer place to invest. Banks may not be the racy investments they were pre-crisis, but David Coombs, our head of multi-asset investments, explains why boring may be good when it comes to banks.

A hefty jump in US Treasury yields seems the most likely reason for October’s abrupt sell-off. But chief investment officer Julian Chillingworth finds it hard to believe the US economy is about to keel over, given recent data, and believes equities – while volatile – should remain the place to be for the foreseeable future.

People may be living longer than before, but many of them still routinely underestimate how long they might live. And that means there's a very real risk that they could outlive their retirement funds altogether.

In some ways, the US and UK are more alike than ever: both are wrestling with their identities as nations. And yet the Special Relationship is a study in contrasts economically, notes chief investment officer Julian Chillingworth.

Will McIntosh-Whyte, assistant manager of our multi-asset funds, finds a few hidden gems while exploring his new digs in zone one. He found another in Wisconsin, USA.