How can past market events shape future thinking? Two IFAs and one fund manager came together to discuss the investment opportunities and risks in 2024, client-centric solutions and business strategies in the Consumer Duty era.
To kick-off 2024, IFA Magazine hosted another insightful webinar that explored the past, present and future of investing in tricky market dynamics and highlighted the importance of selecting the right investment manager to meet your clients’ needs.
Andrzej Pioch, Lead Fund Manager of the L&G MultiIndex Funds was joined by two highly experienced and well-qualified independent financial advisers, Stuart Arnold at Cullen Wealth Limited and Julian Strauss at Bigmore Associates. We’re very grateful to all three panelists for sharing their valuable insights in such an open discussion. It was another webinar where we attracted record numbers of IFA Magazine viewers and the feedback was very positive.
If you missed the webinar on the day, the good news is that you can download the conversation free of charge and catch up with it at your leisure.
Co-chaired by IFA Magazine’s editor Sue Whitbread and Senior Financial Journalist, Jenny Hunter, the panel delved into a detailed discussion. It began with each panelist sharing insights on market lessons from past events, followed by a discussion on planning for the future. The webinar rounded up with a conversation around the client journey, outsourcing and navigating the latest regulations for advisers.
Following the webinar, LGIM’s Andrzej Pioch expressed his gratitude for the opportunity to discuss such an array of topics with a large adviser audience. He stressed the importance that he and his team place on client-centric processes and how they aim to be nimble and adapt to any future challenges.
He said: “Thank you IFA Magazine, for the opportunity to have an honest discussion with Stuart from Cullen Wealth and Julian from Bigmore Associates about aiming to achieve investment outcomes for advised clients. On the day, it quickly became clear that our industry could really benefit from an open discussion between advisers and fund managers. Sharing different experiences and perspectives can help us deliver solutions that aim to match investors’ needs and their tailored financial plans.
“Since we started building out our flagship L&G MultiIndex range back in 2013, we quickly understood that we never operate in a vacuum. While we’re busy managing funds, we need to also anticipate how our clients’ needs might evolve in the future and how key regulation, from RDR to SDR, may shape our proposition. As financial markets and the regulatory landscape evolve, so do our funds – to help give advisers peace of mind that their clients’ money is in a safe pair of hands.
“Looking forward, we understand that many investors expect more from a multi-asset fund than a traditional ‘60/40’ portfolio, and we will need to continue to challenge ourselves to ensure we remain diversified within our portfolios. Today, we believe that means greater regional diversification of our equity exposure, a nimbler approach to our bonds and a broader set of alternative assets. In the future, we are confident that working side by side with Stuart, Julian and the wider financial advice community will allow us to tackle any new challenges head on.
Jullian Strauss, Senior Financial Planner at Bigmore Financial Planning also shared his reaction adding:
“For both Stuart and I, it was great to discuss the challenges and opportunities facing both the Asset Management and Financial Planning profession alongside Andrzej, especially against the backdrop of Consumer Duty.
“What is clear to me from the discussion is that for Asset Managers and Financial Planners who strive to put the client at the centre of everything they do, they can see Consumer Duty as a validation for what they already do rather than another piece of draconian regulation they need to comply with.
“Furthermore, it is a great encouragement to see many Asset Managers following in the footsteps of LGIM by providing value for money, risk rated investments solutions which allow us as Financial Planners to focus on helping our clients achieve their individual financial goals.”
IFA Magazine’s first webinar of 2024 was just the start of what is sure to be an interesting year for investment managers, advisers and clients alike.
This webinar’s unusual format of having two advisers, alongside an investment manager, produced an extremely open and transparent conversation about the process, challenges and benefits of working together to ensure the best outcomes for clients.
Andrzej’s expert view on markets paired with Jullian and Stuart’s experience of the client process and their expectations produced a fascinating discussion.
If you were unable to attend the live broadcast of the webinar, the full recording of the conversation is available here.
About Andrzej Pioch, LGIM
Andrzej is a fund manager in LGIM’s Multi-Asset Funds team. His responsibilities cover the portfolio management and ongoing development of both institutional and retail multi-asset funds and he leads on the management of the award-winning L&G MultiIndex fund range. Prior to joining LGIM in July 2014, he was a fund manager at Aviva Investors. He is a CFA charterholder and completed the MSc programme in Finance at Bocconi University in Milan. He also holds a bachelor’s degree in economics and social science from Utrecht University. An ESG advocate, Andrzej holds GARP’s Sustainability and Climate Risk (SCR®) Certificate and lectures at Queen Mary University of London on Portfolio Construction and Asset Allocation.
About Stuart Arnold, Cullen Wealth Limited
Stuart joined Cullen Wealth in 2010 and has worked in financial services since 1991. As a Chartered Financial Planner and Director, Stuart works with the key clients of the business. Typically, these are current or retired business owners and Stuart enjoys the complexity of helping them manage their affairs efficiently but, ultimately, wants to bring true financial planning to life in an engaged and relevant way.
About Julian Strauss, Bigmore Associates
Julian joined Bigmore Associates in January 2019 as a Senior Financial Planner and was appointed as Financial Planning and Investment Director in June 2021. He is highly qualified as a CFP (Certified Financial Planner) and a Chartered Member of the Institute for Securities & Investment with over 27 years industry experience. Julian’s passion is to help clients enjoy their lives with the peace of mind of knowing their money is invested in the right place for the right time.
