Good morning and welcome to your Morning Briefing for Thursday 23 January 2025. To get this in your inbox every morning click here.
The FCA will regulate but can’t innovate
“Good things come to those who wait” goes the proverb – but not if you’re waiting for the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), says Chet Velani, managing director at EV.
But why wait for them to regulate when we can innovate? We can start closing the advice gap today.
Advisers can help investors avoid ’emotional rollercoaster’
Financial advisers and wealth managers can play a significant role in helping investors avoid an “emotional rollercoaster” in the year ahead as stock market volatility surges.
That is the message from behavioural finance experts Oxford Risk.
However, it has warned that advisers need better technology to deliver more personalised support for clients.
Fairstone and JP Morgan Asset Management partner on MPS range
Financial planning firm Fairstone has partnered with global wealth manager J.P. Morgan Asset Management on a new Managed Portfolio Service (MPS) range.
The partnership will see Fairstone utilise J.P. Morgan Asset Management’s global equity and global bond capabilities as core components of its new NOVA MPS range.
The NOVA MPS, set to launch on 1 March, will provide institutional-grade investment capabilities to retail clients at institutional pricing, at 55 basis points.
Quote Of The Day
Given that Trump has adopted the mantra of ‘drill, baby, drill’ and the actions he has taken since coming into office, it is safe to say that the outlook for the green economy looks uncertain within the US
– Gemma Woodward, head of responsible investment, Quilter Cheviot, on the future of the US’ green economy
Stat Attack
AI-driven identity fraud is escalating, but there is a gap between awareness and action, according to a recent report from Signicat. It shows:
76%
of decision-makers recognise the growing threat of AI in fraud.
22%
Despite this, only one in five financial institutions have implemented measures to prevent AI-driven identity fraud.
74%
admit that they do not have the time to address the problem with the urgency it requires.
0.1%
Deepfake attacks only accounted for of all fraud attempts three years ago.
6.5%
But today, they represent around 6.5%.
2,137%
The amount they have increased by since 2022.
1,200
The number of fraud decision-makers surveyed across banks, fintechs, payment providers and insurance companies in Europe.
Source: Signicat
In Other News
A perfect storm of geopolitical volatility, multi-strategy expansion, new fund launches and risk-mitigation strategies by institutional investors will help the global hedge fund industry top $5trn in assets under management by 2030.
That is the base-case projection from With Intelligence, the leading provider of investment intelligence for alternative assets, private markets and public funds in its Hedge Fund Outlook 2025.
The new report tracks the major trends driving hedge-fund investment in 2025 and beyond.
“It can be difficult to make market predictions at this time of year — especially in a year where so many major changes are in play across geopolitical, technological and macroeconomic spheres,” said Paul McMillan, research lead at With Intelligence.
“What we do know for sure as we look at the next 12 months through the lens of the hedge-fund industry is that there will be volatility, and — after proving their maturity and risk-mitigation chops during recent periods of heightened volatility — hedge funds are likely to be a beneficiary of that trend.”
From Elsewhere
European banks to reward investors with bumper €123bn in payouts (Financial Times)
India to overcome impact from Trump policies, Modi official says (Bloomberg)
Five key challenges for the Russian economy in 2025 (Reuters)
Did You See?
Quilter has said it intends to provide an update on its review into ongoing advice fees in March.
It committed to undertake the review of historical data and practices across the Quilter Financial Planning network of appointed representative firms in March 2024.
A skilled person was then appointed to carry out the independent review the following month.
It came after the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) wrote to 20 of the biggest advice firms in February 2024, requesting information about their ongoing advice fees.
At the time, Quilter has said the review may result in the company incurring “remedial costs” – but said it was “too early to quantify” how much they would be.
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