The Morning Briefing: Geopolitics top concern for advisers and Foster Denovo expands presence in Scotland

Good morning and welcome to your Morning Briefing for Wednesday 8 January 2025. To get this in your inbox every morning click here.

Geopolitics and volatility top concern for advisers

Geopolitics and market volatility are the top concerns for advisers in 2025, according to latest research from Scottish Widows.

In the face of a volatile UK equities market, the research shows advisers start the year more bearish, with only 64% expecting equities to rise in the next 12 months.

This is down from 77% the previous year. Meanwhile, nearly half of surveyed advisers cited geopolitics as the biggest risk to equities.

Foster Denovo expands presence in Scotland

Foster Denovo has acquired Verum Wealth, adding £87m of assets under advice to its recently established Glasgow hub.

The addition of Verum Wealth marks the firm’s seventh acquisition in just over a year.

The transaction comes after Foster Denovo continues to expand its national footprint, buying Brian Mole and 80Twenty in the Midlands last autumn after the Rosemount deal.

Watch out for Woodford the sequel

You would hope by now the financial industry would have learned the lessons of the Woodford Equity Income Fund (WEIF) saga. Alas, I fear it hasn’t, and five years on the chance of a recurrence has never been greater, writes Robin Powell, editor of The Evidence-Based Investor.

WEIF blew up because of liquidity issues that were allowed to fester. With redemption requests mounting, Neil Woodford was forced to dispose of liquid shares, which left the portfolio filled with hard-to-sell illiquid investments.

Eventually, the only way for Link, the fund’s administrator, or ACD, to avert a catastrophic fire sale was to suspend and eventually close it.

Quote Of The Day

Gilt yields have surged sharply in recent weeks, which is bad news for the government as it stokes fears about the state of public finances

– Richard Carter, head of fixed interest at Quilter Cheviot, comments on the rise in gilt yields with UK long-term borrowing costs hitting a 27-year high.

In Other News

Cazenove Capital, the high-net-worth wealth-management business of Schroders, has announced plans to adopt the Financial Conduct Authority’s Sustainability Disclosure Requirements (SDR) labels across its three sustainable flagship funds.

These funds, SUTL Cazenove Charity Sustainable Multi-Asset Fund for charity clients, and both SUTL Cazenove Sustainable Growth Fund and SUTL Cazenove Sustainable Balanced Fund for private clients, collectively manage over £3bn of assets on behalf of clients.

The planned adoption of the labels across the funds is intended to give clients confidence in the integrity and robustness of Cazenove Capital’s sustainable investment approach and commitment to managing investments in line with their values.

Investment funds may adopt one of four labels under SDR, which aims to improve the trust and transparency of sustainable investment and minimise the risk of greenwashing.

General insurance solutions provider Paymentshield has strengthened its home-insurance panel with the addition of two insurers: Ageas UK and Tradex.

The additions further reinforce the panel’s underwriting capabilities and breadth of coverage, increase competition and ultimately ensure that advisers can provide quotes to a higher proportion of customers.

Ageas UK and Tradex join AXA, Allianz and Integra, with further expansions to the panel expected in early 2025. It reflects Paymentshield’s commitment to maintaining stability and consistency amid a changing market of personal lines insurers.

Independent UK law firm Burges Salmon has appointed Charles Claisse as a partner in the firm’s Corporate and M&A team. Based in London, Claisse joins the firm from Deloitte Legal, where he was head of M&A and is ranked as a leading partner across the legal directories.

With experience working for clients ranging from FTSE and Fortune 500 businesses to funds and the management teams of private equity and venture backed business, and specialising in tech and tech enabled businesses, Claisse advises on complex mergers and acquisitions, investments, joint ventures, partnerships and spin-offs.

Rolls-Royce factory to expand for more bespoke cars (BBC)

China’s currency hits 16-month low on Trump tariff fears (Financial Times)

Everyone wants a Silicon Valley wealth machine (Bloomberg)

Did You See?

Do we always follow the advice we provide to clients?

First-hand experience suggests not. When I was first starting out, I was kindly mentored by an older, more experienced adviser for a brief period. I will never forget him asking me sarcastically, “Do you have income protection then?”, writes Taylor Beavis, director of Universe Financial Advice

At the time, I didn’t. I had done countless exams and knew all about the benefits of securing protection, but I hadn’t yet done so myself.

He rightly told me I couldn’t expect to command credibility with my own clients if I couldn’t practice what I preached. I quickly set about sorting it.

Fast-forward to now, having been in the profession for several years, and I would say success for my business has mostly come down to trust and credibility with my clients.

It was the best advice he had given me.

Read the full article here.