| Facing up to a bear Harriet O’Brien spoke to Eren Osman, Managing Director, Wealth Management at Arbuthnot Latham this week, who turned his attention to the bear market. "Forecasting the duration of bear markets is notoriously difficult," he says. "But historically they are much shorter-lived than bull markets. Currently, we remain cautious on equities as inflationary impulses (especially in Europe and the UK) are skewed to the upside. Furthermore, company earnings are vulnerable in the current weak economic environment, which may bode poorly for equities."
And in this modern world, investors have been going online to do their research. According to Arbuthnot Latham internet searches for "interest rates" are up 243 per cent since the start of June this year, while searches for phrases such as "ways to save" and "should I be investing?" are up by 125 per cent and 85 per cent respectively.
In our In My
Opinion this week, Dean Brown, Partner, Wealth and Asset Management Consulting, KPMG UK, writes that we find ourselves in an age where customers take for granted the ability to use digital products and services in a seamless and effortless way.
"As a result, the Wealth and Asset Management industries find themselves under pressure to deliver technologies like digital communications and customer-centric technology to improve their offering and customer experience," Brown writes.
"But to get the most from technology investments, these organisations must be able to apply technology quickly and in the correct way. This means boosting organisational agility to identify and explore new opportunities, learn what works, invest appropriately, and act across every product or service offering with a strong focus on customer value."
Brown concludes that wealth and asset management firms that can shape agile working practices that suit their
organisation and can achieve true agility will be better equipped to navigate external and internal change at market speed.
"As customer preferences continue to evolve at pace, those firms will be best placed to serve their customers and achieve a competitive advantage," he says.
Beverly Chandler, managing editor, ETF Express
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