Fuelled by the Nasdaq hitting record highs, the IA Technology & Technology Innovation sector recorded a 39.29% return for the calendar year placing it top of the sector rankings, while the IA China/Greater China finished bottom with a fund average fall of 20.35%.

“I don’t think many thought tech would be the standout performer of 2023, I certainly didn’t,” said Ben Yearsley, director at Fairview Investing. “In what was a surprise to many, the never never rally of a few years ago has reappeared with the Nasdaq reaching an all-time high.”

Largely driven by the performance of the ‘magnificent seven’, the Nasdaq ended the year returning 45.44%, making it the best performing index of the year.

Elsewhere from a sector perspective, IA Latin America finished second in the rankings with a gain of 23.23%, which Yearsley noted was possibly driven by a weaker dollar in the absence of commodity bull run.

See also: Sector in review: IA £ Strategic Bond

Taking the bronze medal for the year was the IA India/Indian Subcontinent sector, which registered an average fund return of 17.05%, with the North America (16.75%) and Europe (14.08%) sectors completing the top five.

Despite registering the biggest loss in 2023, Yearsley expects sentiment to China “must change” at some point with shares looking “ridiculously” cheap and recently India overtaking Hong Kong in market-cap terms.

“China funds dominated the bottom 10, bottom 20 and bottom 30 performers,” he said. “The only other notable theme at the bottom was energy transition and solar related funds. These stocks had a perfect storm in 2023 of rising rates, falling power process, and increased costs.”

See also: Markets can still thrive with higher interest rates

While 2023 didn’t turn out as most predicted, looking forward Yearsley said 2024 promises to be a fascinating year with politics dominating the picture.

“Will Donald Trump regain the presidency? Will Keir become UK PM? And will Europe head to the right?” he said. “Probably the only certainty is Modi winning another term in India with a currently high-flying economy and stockmarket.”

The purchase aims to enhance the middle and back-office processes for asset managers through digitalisation, standardisation and automation.

Adjuto will power FE fundinfo’s managed fee and distribution channel management service.

This move will help the company to deliver an end-to-end solution for fees and distribution channel management.

Steffen Ahlers director of fee and distribution channel management at FE fundinfo, said: “This acquisition is a testament to our unwavering commitment to equipping asset managers with products and services for success.

“Together, we’re poised to redefine industry standards and digitalise processes related to fee management.”

Olivier Gnos chief executive at Adjuto, added: “Our decade-long journey in developing top-tier technology aligns seamlessly with FE fundinfo’s vision for the future.

“This collaboration presents an incredible opportunity to harness our collective strengths and provide asset managers with transformative solutions that simplify their operations, reduce manual processes and elevate their performance.”

On 18 May 2022, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed that the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) reached 9% in April 2022 – the highest inflation figure in 40 years. The Bank of England expects this to rise to 10% by the end of the year.

As a result, the data provider is urging advisers to adjust their strategies accordingly, after discovering that the vast majority keep the same client risk profile once they hit retirement.

Toyosi Lewis, retirement specialist at FE fundinfo, said: “There is a broad consensus among advisers that capital protection in the early retirement years – typically one to three years – is important because of the potential impact that falling markets will have on future withdrawal amounts.

“Holding cash, or cash-like investments, remains a popular strategy, but also having an investment return that keeps pace with inflation over the longer term will be equally important.

“With market volatility impacting retirement portfolios across the globe and a shift from ‘Generation DB’ to ‘Generation DC’ entering retirement, we need to reframe the adviser/client conversation about risk, so that the inherent risk is not viewed in terms of an investment losing its value, but rather the client running out of money over the course of their retirement.”

Traditional models have ‘run their course’

FE’s adviser survey also revealed that the “traditional ways of thinking in retirement” are still prevalent, with around 75% of advisers believing that 3% or 4% annual drawdown would be sustainable.

This is despite the current inflation figures and the Bank of England’s forecasts.

According to the survey, advisers believe sequencing risk – a market fall in early retirement – is the biggest threat to clients at the moment, more than longevity, inflation, overspending or volatility.

Lewis added: “No retirement plan is, or will ever be, risk free. Moving to a decumulation approach essentially replaces one set of risks with another. For many investors it may seem counterintuitive to think about increasing their risk exposure as they approach retirement, but in a decumulation portfolio, the bigger risk might be running out of money rather than the value of an asset falling.

“As an industry, we need to do more to empower advisers with innovative investment solutions, in order to have these conversations with clients and move away from models and strategies which have perhaps run their course.

“With the fastest price rises we’ve seen in decades, rising inflation has been the topic on the minds of many financial advisers and their clients. Market volatility has also focused minds on the impact it has on client portfolios. Drawdown is complex and there is no ‘perfect’ solution to mitigate the challenges clients will face in retirement; having a process in place whilst maintaining a flexible outlook and approach is useful to anticipate, and react to, changing events as they occur.”

The 2022 Financial Adviser Survey by FE Fundinfo found that nearly 70% of advisers increased their technology budgets over the past year, with 81% recognising opportunities from greater adoption of digital services.

Of those that increased spend on tech, over 70% said they did so to help with business efficiency, while 41% introduced digital tools to support remote working.

At the same time, more than a third (35%) enhanced their digital offering following client demand, which FE Fundinfo found to be at an all-time high.

Among the more popular digital services, that advisers have invested in, are client portals (30%), risk profiling tools (24%) and investment research (23%).

Hurdles

But financial advisers are still encountering barriers. For instance, 58% cited the lack of integration between existing products and services, followed by the cost of implementation (50%), and then finding the right software to complement their existing suite of technology (49%).

Even though advisers overall recognised the benefits of being a more digital business, they are still worried of the threats that may come hand in hand with it.

Two of the main fears, FE Fundinfo discovered, were data theft and online security, alongside the general concern of losing a ‘personal touch’ with clients.

Oli Greenspan, adviser sales director at FE fundinfo, said: “The last couple of years presented a unique opportunity for advisers to take an active view of their tech stack. For many, it would have become fairly obvious throughout the period of remote and home working where gaps in their technology stack existed, and these would have most likely been addressed throughout the course of the pandemic.

“What we can see clearly though, through the financial adviser survey is that an industry which was perhaps unfairly seen as late adopters to digitisation, is not only recognising, but seizing the opportunities presented by a growing range of hardware and software which are bringing greater efficiencies across the board.

“While the research shows there is still much to be done in bridging existing gaps by service providers and technology enablers, advisers are all too ready and able to invest in technology which will aid their business when it becomes available.”

The survey polled over 200 UK-based advisers between November and December 202.

The UK-based IFA group named Helen Thornton as chief people officer, a newly created role.

She used to work at credit management firm Lowell, where she was UK people director, and is also a board trustee of Dixon Academies Trust.

Fidelity

The investment firm has hired Stefan Kuhn as head of ETF distribution for Europe, effective from 1 April 2022.

In he newly created position, he will be based in Kronberg, Germany and be responsible for expanding the company’s European ETF business.

Kuhn was previously at State Street Global Advisors, where he was head of SPDR ETFs for Germany, Switzerland and Austria.

PGIM Investments

The asset management arm of Prudential has expanded to Italy with the hire of Alessandro Aspesi as country head.

He will be based in the firm’s newly opened office in Milan.

Aspesi joins from Columbia Threadneedle Investments, where he spent over a decade in a similar role.

Axa IM

The investment management division of Axa has promoted Amit Singh to head of inclusion, diversity and engagement, effective immediately.

He has been with the company since 2015, where he was head of human resources for Asia and Japan.

Candriam

The asset management company has promoted Jörg Allenspach to global head of private asset distribution.

This will be in addition to his current role as head of Candriam Switzerland.

He has been at the firm since 2018.

FE Fundinfo

The fund data provider has recruited Jens Jørgen Holm Møller as client director for the Nordic region.

Most recently, he ran his own consultancy business offering management support to asset managers and banks.

Tilney Smith & Williamson

The UK-based wealth management group has expanded its investment management team.

Sean O’Flanagan becomes an investment director.

He joins from Charles Stanley, where he spent over nine years as a senor investment manager and managed the firm’s AIM-based IHT service.

Artorius

Vanda Cox has joined the UK-based advice firm as business development director.

She joins from EQ Investors, where she was part of the board of directors.

Redwheel

The investment business, formerly known as RWC Partners, has made two hires.

Olivia Seddon-Daines takes on the role of senior sustainability specialist while Katherine Velasquez as responsible investment associate.

Seddon-Daines was previously head of ESG at Somerset Capital Management, while Velasquez worked as an ESG quantitative analyst at La Française Group.

Melbourne Capital Group

The Apac-based wealth management firm has appointed Michael Garcia as US private wealth manager.

He will serve American clients and US-connected people living outside of the US.

Garcia joins from DeVere Group, where he worked as an associate wealth consultant for more than five years in Malaysia.