The Asset Allocator Podcast

Why Isio have no government bonds in their MPS

02 Apr 2026

Contributed by Lukas

At a time when most investors are chasing the next shiny thing, Isio portfolio manager Daniel Nielsen is dusting off an old classic and bringing asset...

Why there are no safe havens left

26 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

David Coombs, head of multi-asset at Rathbones, discusses the ongoing market turbulence and the search for safe havens with Asset Allocator contributi...

How Fidelity think about risk in their new MPS

19 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Caroline Shaw, who jointly runs the new model portfolio range at Fidelity, discusses how she hopes to stand out in a crowded market, and how she think...

Govt bonds ‘still the best safe haven and store of capital’

12 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

James Klempster, Liontrust's deputy head of multi-asset, discusses portfolio construction at a time of severe market strife with FT Adviser's Tara O'C...

What 7IM means by rules-based investing

05 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Shanti Kelemen, co-CIO of 7IM, discusses how her firm uses rules-based investing when creating portfolios and how those rules evolve in different mark...

Volatility means active management now increasingly attractive in US

26 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Alex Harvey, senior portfolio manager at Momentum Global Investment Management, discusses the changing nature of allocations to US equities, his views...

Why One Four Nine Group has cut its equity exposure by 5%

24 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Bevan Blair, chief investment officer at One Four Nine Group discusses his recent decision to reduce the equity exposure across all client portfolios,...

Is active management making a comeback?

12 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Andrew Spence, founder of Aspen Advisers, discusses the perils of concentration risk in equity portfolios and the options for achieving diversificatio...

How Canaccord Genuity are allocating to profit from dollar weakness

05 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Richard Champion, co-chief investment officer at Canaccord Genuity Wealth, joins Asset Allocator contributing editor David Thorpe and chief reporter J...

Assets to own to protect against a Trump-induced market shock

29 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Peter McLean, head of multi-asset portfolio solutions at Stonehage Fleming, discusses the options for investors looking for diversification in an era ...

How to diversify US equity exposure in the age of Trump

21 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

The latest guest on the Asset Allocator podcast is Ben Yaearsley of Fairview Consulting, who joined Contributing editor David Thorpe and chief reporte...

The biggest question impacting portfolios in 2026

08 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Supply shocks from the adoption of AI and as a result of increasingly isolationist trade policies mean markets could be at risk from heightened inflat...

Resilience needed to attract clients to sustainable funds

11 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

EQ Investors' head of impact investing Damien Lardoux discusses the evolution of the sustainable investment market with Asset Allocator. Hosted on Aca...

Ability to pass on tariff costs becoming limited for US companies

04 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

US businesses have to date been able to protect their margins and pass on any costs as a result of tariffs, but data indicates this could be coming to...

Why JM Finn expects muted bond market response to Budget

25 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

On the latest edition of the Asset Allocator podcast, Jon Cunliffe of JM Finn discusses the implications of the forthcoming UK Budget and how he sees ...

US market is diversification target for EBI

20 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Jonathan Griffiths, head of investment at EBI, joins the Asset Allocator podcast to discuss his firm's new fund-of-fund range, how he thinks about the...

UK equity funds Evelyn Partners are sticking with

13 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Despite Evelyn Partners generally reducing exposure to UK equities, fund manager James Burns said he retains his “highest conviction” positions an...

Diversification in an age of uncertainty

12 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The level and nature of risk in markets means diversification must happen within asset classes, not just between them, according to Richard Philbin, a...

Why Tatton are underweight US equities and overweight Japan

30 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Olivia Geldenhuys, head of investment specialists at Tatton, discusses the firm's equity exposure in the latest episode of the Asset Allocator podcast...

Why reducing Japanese equity exposure now is sensible portfolio management

23 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Premier Miton's Chris Robinson joined Asset Allocator chief reporter Joseph Wilkins and contributing editor David Thorpe to discuss equity markets, an...

Resurgence of strategic bond funds "not surprising"

09 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

On the latest edition of the Asset Allocator podcast, chief reporter Joseph Wilkins and contributing editor David Thorpe are joined by David Aujla, mu...

How the Schroders multi-asset team is reacting to dollar weakness

02 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This week Tara Fitzpatrick, multi-asset portfolio manager at Schroders, joins funds correspondent Joseph Wilkins and contributing editor David Thorpe ...

Why earnings growth justifies US tech stock outperformance

25 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Gene Salerno, chief investment officer for UBP UK, joins Asset Allocator's Joseph Wilkins and David Thorpe to discuss global markets, and in particula...

Which is the last cheap equity market in the world?

17 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The latest episode of the Asset Allocator podcast features hosts Jospeh Wilkins and David Thorpe discussing where value might be found in equity marke...

Inside Quilter's passive alternatives strategy

10 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Quilter portfolio manager Sacha Chorley sat down with Asset Allocator contributing editor David Thorpe to discuss the firm's relative unqiue way of ga...

Why boutique fund managers represent a compelling opportunity

04 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Rob Burdett, an industry veteran who is currently head of multi-manager investments UK at Nedgroup, joins Asset Allocator contributing editor David Th...

Why this allocator is 30% underweight to the US

31 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Downing’s Simon Evan-Cook tells the latest edition of the Asset Allocator podcast that he has just 30 per cent of the capital he manages in US funds...

What is the best way to buy an index fund?

24 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Rob Starkey, multi-asset investor at PortfolioMetrix, joins the latest edition of the Asset Allocator podcast to give his take on the different elemen...

Is active management reaching a turning point?

17 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The market turbulence of this year could mean actively managed funds come back into fashion, says David Aujla, multi-asset portfolio manager at Invesc...

Why 7IM sold out of healthcare

10 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This week Ben Kumar, head of equity strategy at 7IM, joins David Thorpe and Joseph Wilkins to explain why 7IM sold out their healthcare exposure and w...

Can anything stop the S&P 500 from going up?

03 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Despite what may seem like Donald Trump’s best attempts, the S&P 500 continues to rise ever upwards.This week Dave Baxter and Joseph Wilkins tal...

Can a portfolio ride out every bump?

26 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This week saw the launch of Shard Capital's 'permanent portfolios' which shun the traditional 60:40 model to create a proposition to protect against m...

Is American exceptionalism over?

19 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Ever since Donald Trump announced he was "reforming" the US approach to trade, the question of whether the American equities and government bonds will...

What role does factor investing play?

12 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A lot of focus recently has been on the pros and cons of equal-weight exposure but other factors are available, such as minimum volatility, momentum a...

How is the economic cycle affecting portfolios?

05 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Typically, fiscal and monetary policy is counter cyclical but in recent years this appears to have changed, most prominently in the US fiscal policy. ...

Should UK gilts do the twist?

29 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In 2011 the Federal Reserve stopped issuing 30-year bonds to "twist" the maturity profile and reduce the nominal value of US debt.This week we're join...

What's the case for increasing exposure to the US?

22 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

At times it might seem like Donald Trump's campaign slogan was actually "make markets volatile again". If so, he seems to have succeeded.This week Dav...

The struggles of measuring MPS performance

15 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Comparing the performance of model portfolio solutions can sometimes be a challenge, given the difference risk levels and approaches across the market...

Do risk variable portfolios work?

08 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

There are many ways to skin a cat, and even more ways to run a model portfolio service.This week Ash Weston, head of MPS at 8AM Global, joined David T...

Can you diversify away from tariff volatility?

01 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Markets have been in a tetchy state ever since Donald Trump announced he was launching a trade war with the entire planet (or maybe not as it later tu...

Market turmoil reveals the perils of owning US tracker funds

24 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Donald Trump's policy decisions continue to reverberate through markets as he decides whether or not to fire Fed chair Jerome Powell.This week David T...

How Donald Trump liberated the markets from going up

17 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Earlier this month US president Donald Trump announced a series of 'reciprocal' tariffs on most countries in the world. This had the effect of tanking...

What’s the role for high yield bonds?

10 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Tacit Investment Management has one of the highest exposures to high-yield bonds of all the portfolio managers we cover.This week we are joined by Kyp...

Can gold's growth be sustained?

03 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The rising price of gold has been one of the stories of early 2025 so far and Stuart Clark, who runs Quilter's Wealthselect portfolios, is one of the ...

Has Europe's time come?

27 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The year has started brightly for the European market, with the Euro Stoxx 50 up more than 10 per cent since the start of 2025. But is that a sign Eur...

Is now the time to worry about the US economy?

20 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

US president Donald Trump has said there might be "a little disturbance" as he imposes tariffs he claims are necessary. But fears of a recession in th...

What to make of the US stock slide

13 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Since the start of 2025, the S&P 500 is down nearly 5 per cent due in part to Donald Trump's 'will he, won't he' approach to tariffs. This week ta...

Mitigating 2024's rise in fund manager moves

06 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Last year saw a spike in the number of fund manager departures, which were at their highest level since Covid.This week David Thorpe, Joseph Wilkins a...

Are we at an inflection point for political risk?

27 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

For better or worse, Donald Trump's first few weeks in the White House have involved a flurry of activity - which the markets have always appreciating...

Are equal-weight indices all they’re cracked up to be?

20 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

If volatility has made a comeback, are equal-weight indices the solution to this problem? Or do they present different issues?This week David Thorpe, ...

Is volatility back for good?

13 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

With Donald Trump in the White House and China pursuing its AI ambitions, it seems like 2025 is going to be a volatile year.This week David Thorpe and...

Benchmarking for success

06 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Selecting a benchmark can be a thorny issue for portfolio managers since it is what their performance is judged against.This week David Thorpe and Jos...

What to make of this week's AI rout?

30 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This week's stock market rout following the emergence of China's DeepSeek has up-ended expectations that stocks like Nvidia would continue powering up...

Why Gam has such a large exposure to US equities

23 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Gam allocates about a third of its portfolio to US equities which, even in a market where exposure to Wall Street is rising, is a punchy position.This...

Why is RSMR's Stewart Smith such a big fan of Japan?

16 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Through the recent peaks and troughs, average exposure to Japanese equities in our database has been relatively unmoved at about 3.5 per cent.But Stew...

Which US equity funds outperformed in 2024?

09 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The Asset Allocator Podcast is back for 2025 and this week David Thorpe, Joseph Wilkins and Dave Baxter kick off the new year by discussing the active...

What does the future have in store for MPS?

19 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In the final edition of the Asset Allocator Podcast of 2024, Joseph Wilkins is joined by Darren Ripton, head of investment at Abrdn, and Ben Hammond, ...

What's the outlook for 2025?

12 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

As we approach the end of the year, David Thorpe gathers a group of experts to look forward into 2025 in this bumper edition of the podcast which is s...

Is the US fiscal deficit about to balloon - and does it even matter?

05 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The result of the recent US presidential election has given many of us plenty to ponder.This week Dave Baxter, Joseph Wilkins and David Thorpe get tog...

Budget changes to Aim markets was 'not woeful'

28 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Unusually for the folk at City Asset Management, the team made a change to the Aim portfolios ahead of the first Budget by chancellor Rachel Reeves. I...

Is there still value in US equities?

21 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The S&P 500 has risen by 30 per cent over the past 12 months, with no event seemingly able to put a stop to this growth.On this week's podcast Dav...

What could a Trump presidency mean for portfolios?

14 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

This week Joseph Wilkins and Dave Baxter are joined by Stuart Clark, who runs the Quilter Wealthselect portfolios.They discuss what a Trump presidency...

What's the outlook for UK equities?

07 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The outlook for the UK economy is a topic that has consumed endless column inches – particularly in the wake of last week's Budget.On this week's po...

How Premier Miton's new MPS head runs his portfolios

31 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Chris Robinson joined Premier Miton over the summer to run the company's new MPS.This week he catches up with David Thorpe and Joseph Wilkins to discu...

What to make of the China stimulus

24 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The Chinese government's sudden U-turn on fiscal stimulus has got a lot of heads scratching recently - including among those who debate the future pro...

Will cost disclosure rule changes spur interest in investment trusts?

17 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

News that the regulator will be changing cost disclosure rules has been welcomed as a lifeline by the investment trust sector.But will it be the silve...

How will China's stimulus affect the rest of the world?

10 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

This week David Thorpe and Joseph Wilkins are joined by Chris Metcalfe, chief investment officer at Iboss, to discuss the impact of China's economic s...

How sustainable are sustainable portfolios?

03 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

This week Dave Baxter, Joseph Wilkins and David Thorpe discuss the malaise which is affecting the world of sustainable portfolios and what that means ...

What really drives returns?

26 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

This week David Thorpe and Joseph Wilkins are joined by James Saunders, head of portfolio management at Tatton Investment Management.They discuss his ...

An emerging opportunity

19 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

This week we are joined by Ryan Hughes, investment director at AJ Bell, to discuss whether the recent volatility seen in markets is likely to be a per...

Going in cycles

12 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The debate of where we sit in the growth vs value cycle and the cyclical vs defensive cycle is often a hotly contested one.This week Joseph Wilkins an...

All things being equal

05 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The Asset Allocator Podcast is back from its summer break and this week David Thorpe and Joseph Wilkins are joined by Damian Fantato, acting editor of...

What's the risk?

15 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

As markets take a pause for breath, we have a chat with Alex Funk, who is newly-installed as head of investments at Portfoliometrix.He chats with Jose...

What does this week's volatility mean for portfolios?

08 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water, market volatility strikes again.This week Joseph Wilkins and Dave Baxter are joined by Fred...

The future's bright, the future's managed

01 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Many of the discussions which are held about portfolios at the moment centre around macro questions.This week David Thorpe and Joseph Wilkins are join...

Can you beat the house?

25 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Some investors might wonder what the point is of trying to outperform the US market when simply buying an S&P 500 tracker has delivered pretty sub...

Reasons to be fearful

18 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The recent success of the so-called magnificent seven stocks has caused plenty of pause for thought so far this year.In the latest edition of the Asse...

Factor tilts, the AI boom and SDR rules

11 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

This week Joseph Wilkins and David Thorpe are joined by Jonathan Griffiths, investment product manager at EBI, to discuss the growing use of factor ti...

'The role of bonds and equities in portfolios has switched'

04 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In this podcast, Asset Allocator chief reporter Joseph Wilkins, contributing editor David Thorpe and Jason Borbora-Sheen talk about the importance of ...

Don't leave me this way

27 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

This year has so far been dominated by two-high profile examples of the rule at play: Ben Whitmore’s forthcoming departure from Jupiter, and Mike Ri...

Staying on theme with global equities

20 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Many investors focus on the ups and downs of particular countries and regions, but in a globalised world themes are becoming an increasingly important...

On the money market

13 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

One of the challenges faced by investment managers lately has been the relative attractiveness of money market funds, given the current macro environm...

The challenge of building portfolios for retirement

06 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

One of the long-running trends in the world of portfolio management has been the gradual fall in average allocations to UK equities.In this week's edi...

Good alpha is so hard to find

30 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The pros and cons of paying an active manager to hunt down outperformance are often hotly debated, and this week we join in.In the latest edition of t...

How the high yield bond market is changing

23 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Bonds have been a very eventful place to be over the past 12 months or so and on this week's podcast, which is supported by Artemis, we have a chat wi...

How a Swedish wealth manager tailored its MPS to UK investors

16 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

One of the latest entrants to the portfolio management market in the UK has been Soderberg & Partners, the Swedish wealth manager which has alread...

Is inflation's stickiness something to worry about?

09 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

This week we catch up with Ben Seager-Scott, the newly-installed chief investment officer at Mazars. In this week's edition of the podcast, which is s...

Has a new spring sprung for equities?

02 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

On this week's podcast Dave Baxter, funds editor on the Investors Chronicle, and David Thorpe, contributing editor on Asset Allocator, discuss why DFM...

Will UK equities continue to be this cheap?

25 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

UK equity funds have suffered their fair share of outflows in recent years - though the FTSE 100 recently hit an all time high and many describe UK eq...

Priced for perfection?

18 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

This week Shanti Kelemen, chief investment officer at M&G Wealth, joins Joseph Wilkins and David Thorpe to discuss US equities and the extent to w...

Bill Dinning sees an opportunity in real assets

11 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

A lot of the talk relating to changes in monetary policy rotate around their effect on bonds and equities, but this week we have a chat with Bill Dinn...

How much of a bargain is the UK?

04 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

For some time the UK has been described as a bargain, but average exposures to the home market in the Asset Allocator database have not budged.In this...

Fund management's got talent

28 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

This week Asset Allocator acting editor Damian Fantato has a chat with funds correspondent Joseph Wilkins and contributing editor David Thorpe about T...

Why emerging markets are no longer the factories of the world

21 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Investing in emerging markets was once seen as a commodity play but on this week's podcast, which is supported by Artemis, we have a chat with Raheel ...

"Therein lies the risk": investing in a manager-led boutique

14 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

When high profile fund managers leave big companies to set up on their own, it is often assumed the assets will follow them almost automatically.But t...

An emerging dilemma

07 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The debate around China versus India has been a biggest party in town lately, as far as emerging markets are concerned.This week Joseph Wilkins and Da...

Unpicking the China versus India conundrum

29 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

One of the topics of debate in recent months has been the long-term investment case for China versus India.This week Dave Baxter, funds editor on the ...

What is going on with the US economy?

22 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

What with the strong performance of the US market driven by a handful of tech stocks and the looming presidential election, it might feel at times tha...

Taking the risk on US equities

15 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

There has been a lot of talk about concentration risk and the rise of the Magnificent Seven stocks but this week we talk to Richard Philbin, chief inv...

What's the investment case for US equities?

08 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

US equities did very well during 2023 which means valuations are now high. This raised the question of what the investment case might be for investing...