Luke Ahern

MPS is an incredibly powerful tool. Platform tech allows a dispersed team with complementary skill sets to collaborate in managing the assets of underlying clients efficiently and effectively. It fosters specialisation and it delivers the benefit of scale to the end investor. But there are creaking sounds as the market continues its spectacular growth. These need to be heard and attended to, as highlighted by NextWealth. There are some exciting initiatives in this direction from a variety of players, which should benefit the whole value chain. Where does this take the MPS market once we're over the hump? Look out for continued growth, mass customisation and continued scale benefits, with MPS displacing traditional custody arrangements across the whole wealth management industry. Bring it on! FNZ Group, Criterion, Financial Simplicity, Mabel Insights,

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In the buzz of our 25th anniversary, I haven't really called attention to this article: building on our biennial fees paper https://okt.to/97oT8B this is a follow up for investors on how to approach fees and get the most out of them. It’s always a good time to take another look at the commercial arrangements you have with your managers—there’s more value to be found and monitoring this over time remains key.

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After hitting new highs multiple times in the first half of 2024, what might the rest of the year and beyond have in store for global equity markets? Chris Wallis, CEO, CIO, and Senior Portfolio Manager at Vaughan Nelson Investment Management shares his global macro outlook, what areas are offering the most value, and risks investors should consider. Natixis Investment Managers. 🔗 Read the full article on Investment IQ: https://incm.pub/3XsBUk7 #investing #assetmanagement #wealthmanagement #finance

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Have a quick listen to Dave and Nigam from BestEx providing a clear and concise case for why you may want to consider utilising order aggregation in your execution. https://lnkd.in/dP7_H-9z

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Great piece here from 'JB' Beckett, looking at how the lanscape has evolved for portfolio products within advisers' CIPs: https://lnkd.in/euUrRtTN Very timely from my selfish perspective, as exploring this in a forthcoming series of presentations (see graphic). The *really* interesting thing is the CGT cat 😼 that's recently been thrown among these pigeons through reduced CGT-free allowances (a cat that might become even more bloodthirsty in forthcoming budgets...) Unitisation, in some form or other, puts control back in the hands of the adviser and the client, whereas the 'classic' ununitised MPS model, in many cases, will likely end up triggering unexpected tax bills for clients holding it outside of a tax wrapper. This is one of the reasons why, when I set up Downing Fox, I went the fully unitised route. I just think it's cleaner and simpler. Anyway, this one's set to run and run. If you want to get up to speed on it, you could do a lot worse then reading JB's excellent potted history.

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We're all aware of the research showing how the majority of actively managed funds underperform. Its a broad universe however, and we strongly believe that some managers are structurally better placed to deliver alpha than others. These tend to be those that are incentivised by performance as opposed to asset gathering, that don't run too much money, that work in small accountable teams and who blend humility with sufficient confidence to stick to their process through inevitable bouts of underperformance. There is a finite list of managers who meet this criteria, but they do exist. Despite what the passive evangelists might say, these active managers have been a vital part of our own Fund's long run outperformance.

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QuotedData's new note on Caledonia Investments plc looks at the steps it is taking to address its discount. https://lnkd.in/eNMdrqnW #QuotedData #QD #CaledoniaInvestments #CLDN #investments #investmentcompanies #investmenttrusts #research #global #flexibleinvestment

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Hear from Mark Aldous, lead author on our MPS Proposition Comparison report, about what's included in the video below. This is such an interesting part of our sector. It's growing rapidly, helping advisers deliver good outcomes to clients, driving down cost (nearly half in three years!). It looks like there is plenty left to run.

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Time to accelerate your investment plans!

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Jim Strang, Chairman of the Board of HgCapital Trust, discusses the highlights of the Trust's interim results, including a 19% growth in revenue and 26% EBITDA growth over the first half of the year. The growth of the Trust's top 20 companies by value has been driven by a combination of organic growth and M&A activity. Strang highlights Hg’s strategy of acquiring companies that hold leadership positions in fragmented markets and then scaling them through strategic acquisitions of smaller competitors. This scaling enables companies to increase their operational leverage, driving further EBITDA growth. In his overview, Strang also delves into Hg's investment focus across eight clusters within software and technology-enabled business services: Tax & Accounting ERP & Payroll Legal & Regulatory Compliance Fintech Insurance Technology Services Healthcare IT Automation & Engineering While the strategy remains consistent, have markets changed, and are they still feeling the after-effects of Covid? Thank you to Jim and HgCapital Trust for sharing these insights. #PrivateEquity #InvestmentStrategy #Growth #HGT #Tech #Mergers #Acquisitions #InvestmentTrust

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Great insight from Ian on AIM shares, which will continue to benefit from BR albeit at reduced rate at 50% from 6th April 2026. The budget also stated pensions will now fall within the scope of IHT from 2027 - we think holding AIM Portfolios in SIPPs will become a useful estate planning tool for professional advisers.

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Global commodity prices are in an upswing, and we think they have passed the trough for the cycle. Demand appears to be lifting and the supply-side is ‘super-squeezed’. So, what’s next? HSBC’s Paul Bloxham and Jamie Culling explore. To find out, read our free to view report here 👉 https://grp.hsbc/6048evV0O #HSBCResearch #Research #Commodities #ThoughtLeadership

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Prominent investment adviser Gary Black has raised serious concerns about the valuation of MicroStrategy Incorporated (MSTR), arguing that the stock of the company may in fact be significantly overpriced. In a recent post on X, Black, managing partner at The Future Fund LLC, expressed confusion after pointing out that the Bitcoin (BTC) holdings of MicroStrategy were valued at $31.2 billion at the time, with a net debt of $4.2 billion, resulting in an equity value of around $27 billion. Yet, its market cap stood at an eye-popping $106 billion. Read the full story on the CryptoWeekly website using our link below. #cryptocurrency #crypto #microstrategy #investment #stock

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Why are investors moving away from momentum driven large cap companies? Join Premier Miton’s Ian Rees, Head of Multi Manager Funds, and MPS Investment Director Chris Robinson, CFA, as they provide an update on the Managed Portfolio Service. They provide a market update and discuss what could be in store for investors over the coming months. https://lnkd.in/eaftgCVz For investment professionals only. Capital at risk. #investing #multiasset #multimanager #talkingmarkets #managedportfolioservice #MPS

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Is there a better way to highlight the difference between a standard equity investment trust and one that invests in real assets? This short 10 minute film of one asset owned by GCP Infrastructure Investments Ltd put together by Kepler Trust Intelligence and Gravis stars Katia Brisson, Ian Gaunt and Ryan Lightfoot-Aminoff, explaining the complexity of this plant and breadth and depth of knowledge needed to ensure it delivers for investors. By contrast, running an equity investment trust requires brilliant analytical skills, a big screen and a comfortable chair. Philip Kent, Max Gilbert, Sam Slator, Andrew Didham, Alex Yew, Dawn Crichard, Julia Chapman, Steve Wilderspin, Michael Gray, Cobalt Energy, Tyseley Energy Park

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We are delighted to share that our Guardian and Fusion, trend-informed, tactically-traded portfolios have delivered outstanding results in Q1.   • Across all risk levels, all of the Fusion portfolio returns and Sharpe ratios, measuring risk-adjusted returns, were in the first quartile for Q1. • Across all risk levels, all of the Guardian portfolios had returns and Sharpe ratios in the upper 2 quartiles for Q1.   Our trend-informed portfolios are 100% invested when market conditions are favourable, but will be reduced in times of market stress.   We remain committed to reducing volatility and maximum drawdowns over whole business cycles, aiming to protect and grow capital growth. Guardian portfolios: https://lnkd.in/eTjbRZDN Fusion portfolios: https://lnkd.in/emBmr54t #DFM #MPS #IFA #WealthManagement #Investing #CrossingPoint

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